Palo Alto Investors taking a Shareholder Activist approach against Gastar

December 17th, 2009		\| More
Contributed by: Hedge Fund Solutions, LLC
Last week, Palo Alto Investors revealed that they had discussions with Gastar Exploration Ltd. (GST) regarding the potential for several proactive measures concerning the Company, including changes to the board of directors and management and other strategic alternatives. The shareholder activist hedge fund manager currently holds 4,674,744 shares of GST, representing 9.3% of shares outstanding. Palo Alto Investors’ announcement was made on December 11th, according to Hedge Fund Solutions’ Catalyst Equity Research Report. Palo Alto Investors has gone on the offensive against a number of energy companies, including Canadian Superior Energy Inc’s (SNG). HFS Comment: Palo Alto changed their filing status with the SEC from “passive” investor to “active” investor on November11, 2009. On December 10, Palo Alto sold 4M shares of GST, equaling approximately half of their ownership. Hedge Fund Solutions (HFS) is a Philadelphia-based investment research and strategy consulting firm focused on providing substantive solutions on issues relating to shareholder activism. For more information on Hedge Fund Solutions, please click here.