Sachem Head, Soros liquidated positions in Peloton in first quarter-filings

Reuters

Published May 13, 2022 06:08PM ET

By Svea Herbst-Bayliss

BOSTON (Reuters) - Investment firms Sachem Head Capital Management and Soros Fund Management exited their positions in Peloton (NASDAQ:PTON) during the first quarter as the stock tumbled and the fitness company replaced its CEO, under pressure from an activist investment firm, regulatory filings made on Friday showed.

Peloton, which makes exercise bikes and treadmills and had become a market darling during the pandemic, faced heavy selling during the first quarter and into the second quarter as the pandemic eased and people returned to gyms.

Since January the stock price has tumbled 55% to close trading at $15.87 on Friday.

Sachem Head sold 1.65 million shares some time during the first quarter, the filing made late on Friday showed. The firm, which sometimes pushes companies to perform better, first invested in Peloton late in 2021 as the company's stock price was already falling. Soros Fund Management exited its position and sold 335,557 shares.

Activist investment firm Blackwells Capital, which owns roughly 5% of the company, began publicly pushing for changes in January. Within a few weeks the company said it hired Barry McCarthy, a former Spotify (NYSE:SPOT) and Nextflix executive, to replace co-founder John Foley as chief executive officer. Blackwells, which had pushed Peloton to sell itself, said in a recent presentation to it is still unhappy with management.

Both Sachem Head and Soros late on Friday released their 13-F filings which show what money managers held at the end of the first quarter. While the filings are backward-looking, they are closely watched for hints on potential trends and insight into what specific stocks managers liked or soured on.