market folly

Barry Rosenstein's activist investment firm JANA Partners has filed a 13D with the SEC regarding shares of HD Supply Holdings (HDS).  Per the filing, JANA now owns 8.1% of the company with 16.25 shares.

This is an increase of over 13.25 million shares since the end of the second quarter when they owned 2.99 million HDS shares.  The filing was made due to activity on October 17th.

The 13D notes they were buying throughout September and into October mostly between $30-32 per share.  HDS currently trades around the $33 level.

JANA has already met with management to discuss strategic alternatives, as well as financial and operational means of maximizing value for shareholders.

For more from this manager, we posted up a recent interview with Barry Rosenstein here.

Per Google Finance, HD Supply Holdings is "an industrial distributor in North America. The Company provides a range of products and value-add services to approximately 500,000 customers in maintenance, repair and operations, water infrastructure and residential and non-residential construction sectors. The Company operates in three segments: Facilities Maintenance, Waterworks, and Construction & Industrial-White Cap. Facilities Maintenance distributes MRO products, provides value-add services and fabricates custom products. Waterworks distributes lines of water and wastewater transmission products, serving contractors and municipalities in the water and wastewater industries for non-residential and residential uses. Construction & Industrial-White Cap distributes specialized hardware, tools, engineered materials and safety products to non-residential and residential contractors."