Feared Activist Hedge Fund Jana Partners Pressures Wolfspeed, Inc. (WOLF)

We recently compiled a list of the 15 Most Feared Activist Hedge Funds. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Jana Partners stands against the other feared activist hedge funds.

Activist investors are a force to reckon with, given their profound impact on companies worldwide and their influence on investor's actions. They stand out from normal investors in buying large stakes in publicly traded companies to effect changes that they believe will unlock additional value.

While public pension funds and mutual funds also participate in stock activism, activist hedge funds often hold significant positions and use extra leverage from derivatives such as stock options to compensate for the costs of such campaigns. Additionally, activist hedge funds acquire positions in struggling companies just before advocating for change, aiming to benefit from the ensuing improvement and increase in stock value.

Activist investors declare their initiatives by submitting a Schedule 13D form to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which must be submitted within ten days after acquiring 5% or more of a company's voting class shares. They often initiate their campaigns for board positions in the early months of the year, as they prefer to introduce new members to the board just before the company's annual general meeting they aim to influence.

READ ALSO: Shake-Up Alert: 40 Companies Facing Activist Pressure.

In contrast to private equity groups that purchase and transform businesses to make a profit upon their sale, activist investors rarely obtain complete or controlling ownership. Instead, they rely on public statements and confidential talks to gain support from other shareholders and within the company. Should these strategies not succeed, an activist investor might seek a proxy battle to install new board members, aiming to compel the company to fulfill their requests.

A company might attract the attention of the most feared activist hedge funds if it needs to be better managed or has high expenses. In some cases, it might be targeted if the investors wish to take the company private or plan to push for the sale of some units as one way of unlocking additional value. It might also be targeted if the activist investors believe it is a problem they can fix to generate more value.

While activist hedge funds' modest goal may be to advise company management, in most cases, they are known for their aggressive actions. They push for seats on the board as one of the ways of influencing a company's strategic direction through decision-making. Some activist investors have gained prominence for forcefully entering into failing businesses and subsequently pushing for management changes, warning off board members—and occasionally, even CEOs.

However, the majority of activist campaigns take place behind the scenes. Roughly two-thirds of the battles occur behind closed doors, whereby agreements are reached without the public ever knowing. It's only when activist hedge funds or investors feel they are getting a cold shoulder from management or board that they go public in a bid to win shareholders' support.

Elliott Management is arguably one of the most feared activist hedge funds as it has targeted some of the biggest companies and taken on some of the most prominent investors, including Warren Buffett. Nevertheless, it is not the only one in the highly competitive field, as Starboard Value L.P. and Trian Partners, among others, are always looked upon by investors looking for highly undervalued stocks with tremendous upside potential.

2023 was one of the most successful years for activist hedge funds as they roared back to life on losing an average of 16% in 2022. As the overall stock market turned bullish in 2023, with the S&P 500 rallying by 24%, activist investors generated an average return of 20.2%, erasing a significant chunk of the losses accrued in 2022.

Some of the most feared activist hedge funds that came out on top included Value Act Capital, which posted a return of 39% better than the S&P 500. Caligan Partners was also up by 37% and Engaged Capital posted a return of 29%.

As interest rate hikes and other factors slowing growth hurt some companies, activist investors successfully pushed for cost cuts, management changes, and strategic alternatives. Many boards only realized too late that it takes more than refreshing directors to offset down performance in today's climate.

In the first six months of 2024, the 15 most feared activist hedge funds launched a record number of campaigns. Investment firm Barclays tracked 147 activist campaigns, a new record from the previous high of 143 campaigns in the first half of 2018. In the second quarter alone, there were 86 campaigns, with Elliott Management launching 11 campaigns and committing close to $11 billion in capital.

The increased activist campaigns threaten to trigger costly battles between activist shareholders and management amid the push for leadership changes, spin-offs, and outright sales of underperforming companies or units.

Our Methodology

After sifting through numerous media reports from the past and the present, we curated a list of the most prominent activist investors. We then picked the hedge funds with the largest portfolios and ranked them in ascending order of their portfolio sizes, as of Q1 2024.

At Insider Monkey we are obsessed with the stocks that hedge funds pile into. The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points (see more details here).

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Jana Partners

Portfolio Size: $1.83 billion

Founded in 2001, Jana Partners is one of the most feared activist hedge funds focusing on companies changing and needing operational improvement. Founded by Barry Rosenstein, the hedge fund buys significant stakes in companies it believes are underperforming and starts pushing for changes that will help improve performance, as is the case at Wolfspeed, Inc. (NYSE:WOLF).

The activist hedge fund earned its reputation by adopting stances backed by thorough research and detailed strategies for long-term growth. Rosenstein refers to this approach as V cubed a three-pronged plan.  Value is the first strategy that entails acquiring assets at the optimal price; Votes: understanding your position in the voting process before initiating a proxy battle; and Variety of strategies: employing multiple approaches to increase value and facilitate the exit from an investment.

Since 2008, the company has progressively moved away from this approach, adopting a new strategy described as the three "Shs," which include Stock price – acquiring assets at the right price; Strategic activism like the campaign at Wolfspeed, Inc. (NYSE:WOLF) – either selling the company or divesting a business unit; and Star advisors/nominees – partnering with leading figures in the industry to provide advice and secure board positions if needed.Its activist campaign pushes for board seats and calls for selling some units or the entire business.

The hedge fund returned 31% in 2023 as it went for changes at Whole Foods and Frontier Communication. Its returns were bolstered by a successful activist campaign at Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT), where it secured board seats, and at software company New Relic. Jana Partners has also sent a letter to Wolfspeed, Inc. (NYSE:WOLF) urging the company to review strategic alternatives, including selling the entire company.

Overall Jana Partners ranks 12th on our list of the most feared activist hedge funds. While we acknowledge the potential of WOLF as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter timeframe. If you are looking for an A.I. stock that is more promising than WOLF, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.

 

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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.