August 3, 2020 BARRON’S M7
INSIDE SCOOP
AT&TDirector Luczo
LoadsUpontheStock
that he filed with the Securities and
Exchange Commission. Luczo’s trust
now owns 300,000 AT&T shares.
AT&T declined to comment on the
stock purchase, and also declined to
make Luczo, a formerSeagate
Technology(STX) CEO and
chairman, available for comment.
Luczo has been the most active
buyer of AT&T stock among insiders
this year. He paid $1.1 million on April
22 for 36,000 AT&T shares, an
average per share price of $29.38. In
February, Luczo paid $3.8 million for
100,000 AT&T shares, an average
price of $37.60 each.
Credit Suisse analyst Douglas
Mitchelson kept a Neutral rating on
AT&T stock with a $33 target price
after the second-quarter report.
“[W]e struggle to see growth in
2021 earnings before interest, taxes,
depreciation, and amortization,”
he wrote.B
AT&T director
Stephen Luczo
continues to buy
slumping shares
of the telecom and
media giant.He
paid $3 million in
late July for more
AT&T stock.
prise participated in the IPO, pur-
chasing 666,666 Nkarta shares at
the offering price. The rest of New
Enterprise’s position resulted in the
conversion of pre-IPO preferred
securities into common stock in
connection with the IPO’s close.
New Enterprise now holds 9.5% of
Nkarta’s tradable stock.
Increases in
Holdings
ViaSat(VSAT)
Baupost Grouplifted its holding
of the satellite and wireless com-
munications firm to 16,288,959
shares. Baupost revealed that it
purchased 2,556,891 ViaSat shares
on July 22 through a private offer-
ing priced at $39.11 apiece. After
the fresh investment, Baupost now
owns a 24.1% interest in ViaSat’s
outstanding stock.
Pearson(PSO)
Cevian Capitalpurchased
10,795,992 ordinary shares of the
educational and professional-
development company. Cevian
bought those Pearson shares from
July 15 through July 29 at per share
prices ranging from $6.62 to $7.24.
Cevian’s fresh investment followed
a previous disclosure that it had
added slightly more than 12.2 mil-
lion Pearson shares from late June
through July 14. All told, Cevian
now owns 63,646,039 ordinary
Pearson shares, equal to 8.5% of
the tradable stock.
Decreases in
Holdings
Callaway Golf(ELY)
Jana Partnerstrimmed its posi-
tion in the golf-accessories com-
pany to 4,636,858 shares. Without
citing a reason, Jana sold 1,331,054
Callaway shares from June 22
through July 21 at prices ranging
from $17.20 to $18.90 each. Jana’s
moves cut its Callaway stake by
nearly a quarter, reducing its dis-
closed ownership to a current 4.9%
from 6.3% in mid-June.
Battlefor
CoreLogicIs
HeatingUp
POWER PLAY
A
T&Tstock has lost about
a quarter of its value so far
this year, but one of the
company’s newest
directors, Stephen Luczo,
recently bought a large
block of shares of the
telecom and media giant.
In July, AT&T’s new CEO John
Stankey presided over the company’s
second-quarter report, which was
mixed. Wireless and business wireline
results were strong, but WarnerMedia
and DirecTV were challenged. None-
theless, earlier this year, AT&T (ticker:
T) said it was committed to paying its
dividend, now yielding about 7%.
Luczo, who joined AT&T’s board
last year, paid $3 million on July 23 for
100,000 shares, a per share average
price of $29.69. He made the purchase
through a trust, according to a form
By ED LIN
T
here has been a paucity of
activist fights to track in
2020, but signs suggest that
one of this year’s battles is
shaping up to be a bruiser.
Back in June, activist investor
Senator Investment Group part-
nered with strategic holding com-
panyCannae Holdings(ticker:
CNNE) to acquire real-estate-data
firmCoreLogic(CLGX) at $65 a
share. Potential deal activity was
welcomed by investors, with shares
swiftly climbing above the offering
price, and recently trading just
above $67. But CoreLogic rebuffed
the offer, saying that it “signifi-
cantly undervalues” the company.
This week, however, the duo
turned up the heat on CoreLogic
after what it called a series of “delay
tactics,” including the introduction
of a poison pill to prevent a take-
over. Senator and Cannae are now
seeking another investor to join
their side so they can reach the 10%
stake needed to call a special meet-
ing in early October and replace
nine members of CoreLogic’s 12-
person board with a slate that will
facilitate a sale process.
The duo claims a 15% “economic
interest” in CoreLogic, including
derivatives, but fell just short of the
10% ownership of common shares
needed to call a meeting.
Signs point to a contentious
battle ahead. Senator and Cannae’s
proposed board nominees include
Katherine Rabin, former CEO of
proxy advisory firm Glass Lewis,
and Gail Landis, a current board
member atMorningstar(MORN).
CoreLogic contends that the bid
undervalues the company, pointing
to its “strong” guidance through
2022—though analysts questioned
that rosy outlook.
Buckle up, because this fight is
still in the first round.B
By CARLETON ENGLISH
Activist Holdings
Virtusa(VRTU)
New Mountain Vantage Advisers
disclosed an interest of 2,979,665
shares of the enterprise information-
technology-services firm, equal to
9.9% of Virtusa’s outstanding stock.
Including cash derivatives, New
Mountain’s economic exposure to
Virtusa now stands at 10.8%. On
July 27, New Mountain delivered a
letter to Virtusa requesting a copy
of its books and records per Dela-
ware corporate law. New Mountain
wants to review several Virtusa
items, including its reported first-
quarter margins, executive compensa-
tion, and the reason behind the disso-
lution of the board’s Finance Com-
mittee, among others. New Mountain
has not revealed any specific proposals
or proxies related to the request.
Original Filings
Nkarta(NKTX)
New Enterprise Associatesrevealed
an initial position in the oncology bio-
tech firm of 2,902,115 shares. Nkarta
recently debuted publicly through a
July 9 initial public offering that was
priced at $18 per share. New Enter-
These disclosures are
from 13Ds filed with
the Securities and
Exchange Commission.
13Ds are filed within
10 days of an entity’s
attaining more than
5% in any class of a
company’s securities.
Subsequent changes
in holdings or inten-
tions must be re-
ported in amended
filings. This material is
from July 23 through
July 29, 2020. Source:
InsiderScore.com