VF surges as Engaged Capital reveals stake: Insider trades & hedge funds weekly

Investing.com — Here is your Pro Recap of the biggest insider trades and institutional investor headlines you may have missed last week: Engaged Capital takes position in VF Corporation, Starboard acquires 5% stake in Fortrea, Engine Capital reveals a stake at MRC Global , and top brass buys at Delta Air Lines and Asana.

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Activist investor Engaged Capital said to take a position in VF Corporation

Shares of VF Corporation (NYSE:VFC) surged more than 13% on Tuesday following an announcement by Engaged Capital that they've built a position in the apparel brand company. Chris Hetrick, Engaged Capital's research director, confirmed the position at the 13D Monitor Active Passive Investment Summit, as reported by Reuters.

Hetrick expressed concerns about VF's management, suggesting the stock value could potentially triple if certain problems are addressed. He also mentioned the strong global position of the North Face brand, while noting the Vans brand has waned in popularity but can be repaired.

Shares closed the week with more than a 16% gain.

Activist hedge fund Starboard acquires over 5% stake in Fortrea, says WSJ

Shares of Fortrea (NASDAQ:FTRE), a recent CRO spinoff of Laboratory Corporation of America (NYSE:LH), rose over 3% on Tuesday after the Wall Street Journal reported that the activist hedge fund Starboard Value has acquired a stake in the firm exceeding 5%.

Starboard Value reportedly intends to advocate for reforms that can enhance profit margins and other measures to lift the stock price. The fund believes Fortrea's operational efficacy declined while it was a minor segment of Labcorp, and the company faced extra costs post-spinoff.

Fortrea shares closed the week with more than a 3% loss.

MRC Global worth up to $18/share in a sale, Engine Capital says

MRC Global (NYSE:MRC) shares rose more than 6% last Monday after activist investor Engine Capital revealed a stake in the company and is pushing it to explore a sale. As per Bloomberg, which accessed Engine Capital's third-quarter letter to investors, the fund holds a 4% stake in MRC. A person familiar with the matter confirmed this to Bloomberg News.

Engine Capital believes the stock is "deeply undervalued" and suggests a private sale might be beneficial, as a private buyer may be less concerned about volatility and mark-to-market risks. The fund estimates MRC's potential sale value between $14 to $18 per share.

Insider trades

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) Director, David Taylor, purchased 10,000 common shares, or worth $330,900, at an average price of $33.09 per share. Taylor owns 17,470 shares directly and another 72,010 indirectly following the latest purchase.

Asana (NYSE:ASAN) CEO Dustin Moskovitz made several purchases last week. He purchased 347,802 common shares, or worth about $6 million, at $17.84-$18.53, and 280,000 common shares, or worth about $5M, at $18.05-$19.71.

The latest purchases are part of a plan Moskovitz disclosed in March 2023 for him to buy up to 30M shares of common stock before the end of 2023.

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