Increases in Holdings

Staar Surgical (STAA)

Broadwood Capital lifted its position in the maker of implantable lenses for the eye to 9,469,723 shares. Broadwood purchased 686,641 Staar Surgical shares at prices ranging from $37.01 to $42.11 apiece from Sept. 5 through Oct. 6. Broadwood now owns a 19.5% interest in the lens maker.

Broadwood emphasized the importance of corporate governance matters and shareholder alignment. The firm intends to be in contact with Staar Surgical's board and other shareholders regarding these issues.

Staar Surgical shares have declined approximately 19% year-to-date.

Howard Hughes Holdings (HHH)

Bill Ackman's Pershing Square Capital Management raised its interest in the real estate developer to 16,965,881 shares. Pershing Square acquired 395,653 Howard Hughes shares from Aug. 16 through Oct. 5 at per share prices ranging from $69.91 to $74.96. Pershing Square now owns 33.9% of Howard Hughes' outstanding stock.

The shares have experienced a decline of approximately 10% since the beginning of the year.

Decreases in Holdings

Star Bulk Carriers (SBLK)

Oaktree Capital has reduced its position in the shipping company Star Bulk Carriers to 16,067,483 shares. On September 22, Star Bulk Carriers repurchased 10,000,000 of its shares from XL Holdings, an affiliate of Oaktree Capital, through a repurchase agreement. The transaction closed on October 9, with each share priced at $18.50. As a result, Oaktree Capital's interest in Star Bulk Carriers decreased from 25.2% to 17.3%. Additionally, Oaktree Capital's board representation at Star Bulk Carriers will decrease from three directors to two. Despite these developments, the company's shares have seen a modest 2% increase so far this year.

Appian (APPN)

Abdiel Capital has trimmed its stake in the business-process software company Appian to 9,371,954 shares. On October 4, Abdiel sold 750,000 Appian shares at a price of $41.43 each, reducing its position in the software firm to 22.5%.

In September, Appian secured a $500 million judgment preservation insurance policy relating to a previous trade-secret case against Pegasystems heard in Virginia state court. The court ruled in favor of Appian and awarded the firm $2.036 billion in damages in May 2022. This ruling was later upheld. However, Pegasystems has appealed the decision.

Appian's insurance policy guarantees that if the final judgment falls below $500 million after all appeals are exhausted, Appian will receive a payment equal to the difference between the award and $500 million.

William Blair analyst Jake Roberge maintained an Outperform rating on Appian stock in early September when the company announced the insurance policy. Roberge highlighted Appian's strong execution and market-leading low-code platform in a research report.