Activist Positions in World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:WWE) and Kulicke and Soffa Industries Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) Fuel Gains
Marlborough, MA, May 27, 2014—Lemelson Capital Management, LLC, a private investment
management firm, today announced that The Amvona Fund, LP has again been ranked by Barron’s as one of the world’s top performing hedge funds for April 2014. It represents the third time in eight months that Barron’s monthly performance rankings of global hedge funds has included The Amvona Fund among the world’s top performers. This designation follows the magazine previously ranking the fund as the top performing hedge fund for July and October 2013.
Fueling Lemelson Capital’s performance in April 2014 were long positions in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), which the firm bought aggressively from March 2013 through July 2013, and Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC). Leading short positions of the fund included World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:WWE), which Lemelson Capital subsequently began buying on May 16, 2014 after WWE had fallen 63.1% since the firm first issued a short call on the stock on March 17, 2014.
Throughout April 2014, these positions helped drive Lemelson’s industry-leading performance. Long positions in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) and KLIC grew 9.9% and 16.7% respectively for the month. The firm’s short position in WWE continued to pay off with an additional -32.5% percent correction during April 2014 alone.
“Despite a consistent rise in general market prices over the last five years, price-value dislocations are still available to the serious analyst and continue to offer the promise of better than average returns,” said Emmanuel Lemelson, the fund’s manager. “Further, buying into truly great American enterprises, even at prices that more or less reflect fair value today will undoubtedly prove superior investments in the long run,” he added.
Lemelson Capital’s activist positions in World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:WWE) and KLIC have received considerable media attention in recent months:
Following Lemelson Capital’s March 17, 2014 short call on WWE and its subsequent 63.1%
correction, , Lemelson Capital announced on May 16, 2014 that it had initiated a long position in the stock. The firm simultaneously called on WWE’s Board of Directors to replace the company’s executive management team, or pursue a sale of the company, following multiple years of declining profitability and material misstatements. Since Lemelson Capital’s May 16 call for changes in WWE’s executive management, the former Attorney General of Louisiana as well as two other law firms have launched investigations into whether WWE has violated federal or state laws with its statements and projections about the company’s anticipated performance.
On April 22, 2014, Lemelson Capital announced that it had taken a significant stake in shares
of Kulicke and Soffa Industries Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) and released a letter to the company’s CEO strongly urging it to begin repurchasing shares of its stock, which Lemelson Capital said were substantially undervalued. On news of Lemelson Capital’s long position in KLIC and share repurchase recommendation, shares of KLIC surged 10 percent.
About Lemelson Capital Management
Lemelson Capital Management, LLC is a private investment management firm focused on deep value and special situation investments. For more information, see: http://www.lemelsoncapital.com/
