New York-based hedge fund firm TPG-Axon Management disclosed a 5.1 percent stake in Outerwall, best known for its RedBox movie rental vending machines. The filing was made on Form 13G, suggesting it is a passive investment. Late Friday, New York-based activist hedge fund Jana Partners disclosed a 13.5 percent stake in Outerwall. The stock surged 6.23 percent, to $63.06.
—
Jeffrey Smith’s Starboard Value has further reduced its stake in SeaChange International to slightly below 5 percent, according to a regulatory filing. It will no longer need to file an amended 13D unless it goes above 5 percent again. SeaChange, which makes video software, was never a significant holding in the New York-based activist hedge fund manager’s $1.4 billion stock portfolio.
—
So, how bad are things at J.C. Penney? Well, on Tuesday its stock rallied after the company said same store sales are down 4 percent in the fiscal month ended Oct. 5. The reason? This is better than the 12 percent decline it had reported for the quarter through Aug. 3. The stock closed up 0.78 percent, at $7.77. However, earlier in the day the stock had surged as much as 7 percent. Apparently sanity was restored by the end of the trading day.
—
Retired hedge fund manager John Arnold and his wife Laura donated $10 million to keep part of the government’s Head Start program open. A reported 3,200 preschoolers were shut out of their programs by the second day of the government shutdown, while other programs appeared to be headed for closure later in the week. Arnold is a former Enron gas trader who qualified for Alpha’s Rich List five times before he decided to close his Houston-based Centaurus hedge fund in 2012 when he was just 38, choosing to devote his time to charity.
