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Eric Sprott loads up on Hycroft Mining  $7.73M

Hycroft Mining (HYMC) is a gold and silver mining company operating in Nevada. Eric Sprott, a prominent Canadian mining investor and 10% owner of the company, purchased 200,000 shares of Class A common stock on April 9 at prices ranging from $38.28 to $39.06. The stock has returned over 1,200% in the past year. In a sector already charging hard on energy fears, Sprott is doubling down on hard assets — a bet that elevated inflation and geopolitical instability have more runway.

Forager Fund accumulates Repay Holdings  $4.71M

Repay Holdings (RPAY) processes electronic payments for consumer and business lending companies. Forager Fund, a 10% owner, purchased shares across five separate days — April 1, 2, 7, 8, and 9 — at prices between $2.42 and $2.68, for a combined total of roughly $4.71 million. RPAY has fallen 38% over the past six months. That kind of sustained buying into weakness, from a holder who already owns over 10 million shares, is a statement that the fund believes the stock is priced well below what it's worth.

Framework Ventures enters Better Home & Finance  $1.79M

Better Home & Finance Holding (BETR) is a digital mortgage and homeownership platform. Framework Ventures IV L.P., already a 10% owner, acquired 54,384 shares at $32.96 on April 10. In a housing market where mortgage rates remain elevated and transaction volumes are depressed, a venture fund holding more than a million shares in a digital mortgage company is a bet on rate relief — or on the platform gaining share as the market eventually thaws.

Saba Capital Management adds to New Germany Fund  $259K

The New Germany Fund (GF) is a closed-end fund — a type of investment vehicle with a fixed number of shares that trades on an exchange — focused on German equities. Saba Capital Management, known for running activist campaigns against underperforming closed-end funds, purchased 22,744 shares at $11.41 on April 8, adding to a multi-month accumulation campaign. Saba has now bought across 49 separate transactions over six months. When an activist of this profile keeps buying, they typically intend to push management to close the discount between what the fund's shares trade for and what its underlying holdings are actually worth.

Angeliki Frangou continues buying Navios Maritime  $1.18M

Navios Maritime Partners (NMM) owns and operates a fleet of dry-bulk and container vessels. Frangou, the company's CEO and chair, has made 14 open-market purchases totaling over $1.17 million in the past six months. The Hormuz blockade and broader Middle East conflict have made shipping routes more complicated — and more valuable. A CEO who keeps adding her own capital in that environment is not spooked by the geopolitics; she's positioned for it.

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IKAV offloads MACH Natural Resources units  $71.2M

MACH Natural Resources (MNR) is an oil and gas company focused on acquiring and developing assets in the Anadarko Basin of Oklahoma. IKAV General Partner, through its subsidiary VEPU Inc., sold 4,612,874 common units at $12.81 on April 8 — a total of $71.2 million. With energy stocks up significantly this year and oil prices well above pre-war levels, this looks like a large-scale sponsor reducing a concentrated position at an attractive price. The timing, with oil near $100, suggests IKAV took the window.

Crestview Partners exits Select Water Solutions  $36.7M

Select Water Solutions (WTTR) provides water management services to oil and gas producers — it handles the water that comes out of and goes into wells during drilling and production. Crestview Partners, a private equity firm and 10% owner, sold 3,096,223 shares at $15.12 on April 8, collecting $36.7 million. WTTR had risen 94% over the prior year and was trading near its 52-week high. Crestview, a financial sponsor with energy expertise, appears to be harvesting those gains.

Roku president Charles Collier locks in stock-option gains  $21.6M

Roku (ROKU) operates the leading streaming platform in the U.S., connecting consumers to Netflix, Disney+, and hundreds of other services through its connected TV devices and software. Charles Collier, President of Roku Media, sold 205,821 shares at $105.00 on April 8 for $21.6 million — the same day he exercised employee stock options that let him buy those shares at prices between $49.59 and $103.54. This is a classic options exercise-and-sell, converting a paper gain into cash. Roku's stock had gained 73% over the prior year.

RA Capital Management trims Vor Biopharma  $10.2M

Vor Biopharma (VOR) is a clinical-stage biotech developing cell therapies — treatments that involve modifying a patient's own cells to fight disease — for blood cancers including leukemia. RA Capital Management, a healthcare-focused investment firm and 10% owner, sold 619,333 shares between April 8 and 10 at prices from $15.75 to $16.91, totaling $10.2 million. VOR fell 14% in the same week. This kind of step-down selling from a major biotech investor warrants watching, particularly ahead of any clinical data readouts.

AE Industrial reduces Redwire stake  $9.2M

Redwire (RDW) manufactures hardware and infrastructure components for space missions, including solar panels, robotics, and deployable structures used on satellites and space stations. AE Industrial Partners Fund, a private equity sponsor, sold 950,144 shares on April 8 and 9 for $9.2 million — at prices between $9.10 and $10.54. AE Industrial has been the primary financial backer of Redwire since its founding. This is a gradual reduction from an early-stage sponsor, consistent with a fund managing its own liquidity timeline.

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Energy

+2.4%

Technology

+1.8%

Industrials

+1.2%

Financials

+0.8%

Cons. Disc.

+0.5%

Utilities

−0.4%

Healthcare

−1.4%

Real Estate

−1.5%

Nate's Take

The trades I'm watching this week sit at the intersection of two very different bets. On one side: Crestview Partners and IKAV, two experienced energy investors who used last week's oil-price window — WTI approaching $100 — to exit energy positions worth a combined $108 million. These are not panicked sellers. They're financial sponsors who built positions when oil was cheap and are now collecting. On the other side: Angeliki Frangou at Navios Maritime Partners keeps buying her own company's stock as the Strait of Hormuz grinds toward a full standstill. She's not selling the energy disruption — she's betting that whoever ends up shipping oil through rerouted corridors will be very well compensated. Both views could be right simultaneously. The question isn't whether energy is still a trade — the sector is up 38% year-to-date. The question is whether we're in the harvest phase or still in the accumulation phase. The bank earnings rolling in today from JPMorgan, Citigroup, and Wells Fargo will give us the clearest signal yet on credit conditions and loan demand, and that context matters for everything else.

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The Hormuz blockade: oil above $100, and the IEA warns reserves are running thin

The U.S. Navy began enforcing a blockade on Iranian ports and coastal areas Monday morning. The action followed the collapse of weekend peace talks in Islamabad, where Vice President JD Vance led a U.S. delegation that failed to secure Iran's commitment to halt uranium enrichment. WTI crude closed Monday at $99.08; Brent at $99.36. The International Energy Agency — a global body that coordinates oil policy among major importing countries — has warned that emergency strategic petroleum reserve releases, which have been partially offsetting the supply shortfall since the war began in late February, are approaching their limits. If those releases wind down before a diplomatic resolution is reached, analysts estimate the physical supply gap could widen materially.

BlackRock goes overweight U.S. equities — then the blockade lands

On Monday, BlackRock — the world's largest asset manager, overseeing roughly $10 trillion — upgraded its view on U.S. stocks to overweight, citing diplomatic signals and a belief that macroeconomic damage from the conflict may still be contained. The upgrade arrived the same morning the Navy blockade took effect. BlackRock's analysts noted that corporate profits continued to climb despite the disruption and projected U.S. earnings to grow 18.7% year-over-year, with the technology sector at 43.4%. The firm's conclusion — that U.S. stocks hold up better on a relative basis even if absolute returns disappoint — is itself a form of hedging: bullish framing with a cautious caveat built in.

Bank earnings season opens: Goldman beats, JPM and Citi due this morning

Goldman Sachs reported Q1 revenues of $17.23 billion Monday, topping the $16.97 billion Wall Street estimate. Earnings per share came in at $17.55 against an expected $16.49. Equity trading revenue rose 27% to a record $5.33 billion. Goldman's stock fell on the day despite the beat — a reminder that markets price expectations, not results. This morning, JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, and Wells Fargo each report before the open. The metric to track is net interest income guidance — that's the difference between what banks earn on loans and what they pay depositors — and what bank management teams say about credit quality heading into a period of elevated oil prices and geopolitical uncertainty.

Capital Economics flags China exposure as a potential escalation trigger

Capital Economics, a London-based research firm, published a note Monday flagging that the U.S. blockade creates a serious diplomatic risk with China: Beijing is Iran's largest oil buyer, and Chinese vessels currently transiting the strait could be subject to U.S. naval enforcement. The Trump administration simultaneously threatened an additional 50% tariff on China if Beijing supplies military equipment to Tehran. That combination — a potential confrontation with Chinese ships and a new tariff threat — introduces a macro risk that goes beyond the energy market. Any escalation involving Chinese commercial shipping would complicate the landscape for global trade and supply chains well beyond the Middle East.

VIX at 18.63: markets are pricing in calm, but the premium window may be closing

The VIX is an index that measures how much investors are paying for options — contracts that give the right to buy or sell stocks at a set price — as a proxy for how much near-term volatility the market expects. A VIX of 18.63 is historically moderate; it fell 2.6% on Monday even as oil climbed. That divergence — oil up, fear down — reflects a market that has grown accustomed to the conflict and is pricing in a diplomatic resolution. The risk is that this complacency is itself a setup: options protection is relatively cheap right now, and any escalation that surprises investors could cause a sharp repricing.