The Bear Cave #123
New Activist Report, Recent Resignations, and Tweets of the Week
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New Activist Report
Spruce Point Capital published a 30,609-word presentation on Generac Holdings (NASDAQ: GNRC — $14.3 billion), a home backup generator company. Spruce Point alleged that the company’s core portable generator business “is under extreme pressure” from foreign competition. In addition, Spruce Point said Generac is losing to the Tesla Powerwall in residential solar products and noted that the company’s Chief Marketing Officer “retired” in February. Spruce Point also alleged that Generac engages in “shady acquisitions” and understates the impact of inorganic revenue growth.
Recent Resignations
Notable executive departures disclosed in the past week include:
CEO of Petrobras (NYSE: PBR — $68.6 billion) resigned after just two months. The company has had six different CEOs in the last five years.
CFO of TuSimple Holdings (NASDAQ: TSP — $1.95 billion) resigned after one and a half years “to pursue other opportunities.” The company is down nearly 80% since its April 2021 IPO and Grizzly Research previously said the company’s founders “have a history of failures.”
CEO of Warner Music Group (NASDAQ: WMG — $13.5 billion) “announced that it has begun planning” for a successor after about twelve years. The company is down ~10% since its June 2020 IPO.
Principal Accounting Officer of Six Flags Entertainment (NYSE: SIX — $1.98 billion) resigned after just five months. The company has had four different CEOs and five different CFOs in the last five years.
Kimberly Wilford resigned from the board of Helbiz Inc (NASDAQ: HLBZ — $27 million) after ten months “due to other prior professional commitments.” The company is down over 90% since its August 2021 SPAC merger.
General Counsel of Quanterix Corp (NASDAQ: QTRX — $694 million) resigned after three years. The company’s SVP of diagnostics also submitted her resignation last month after four years, and in April the company’s CEO transitioned to executive chairman.
Mr. Projesh Banerjea resigned from the board of ReNew Energy Global (NASDAQ: RNW — $2.79 billion) after ten months. The company’s CFO resigned in March 2022 after less than three years “to pursue other interests” and the company is down ~35% since its August 2021 SPAC merger with RMG Acquisition Corp II. The predecessor SPAC, RMG Acquisition Corp, merged with Romeo Power (NYSE: RMO) in December 2020. Romeo Power has since fallen ~95% and last traded for 53 cents.
Data for this section is provided by VerityData from VerityPlatform.com
What to Read
“The 10 Best Sunday’s Idea Brunch Interviews” (Sunday’s Idea Brunch)
“I wouldn’t say I’m contrarian for the sake of being contrarian, but I just try to be an independent thinker and maintain a bit of an outsider mentality. It is important to remember that good companies are not necessarily good investments. We need to be second-order thinkers in this business.”
“Buying From Mark Cuban’s Pharmacy Could Save Medicare Billions, Study Says” (WSJ)
“Medicare’s prescription-drug program could save billions of dollars annually if it purchased generic acid-reflux, cancer and other drugs from a new pharmacy backed by investor Mark Cuban, according to Harvard Medical School researchers.”
“Ken Griffin Moving Citadel From Chicago to Miami Following Crime Complaints” (WSJ)
“If people aren’t safe here, they’re not going to live here… I’ve had multiple colleagues mugged at gunpoint. I’ve had a colleague stabbed on the way to work. Countless issues of burglary. I mean, that’s a really difficult backdrop with which to draw talent to your city from.”
Tweets of the Week
Until next week,
The Bear Cave