CNBC reported on the investigation of SAC Capital Advisors:

Steven A. Cohen has received a subpoena to testify before a grand jury in the government’s insider trading investigation into his hedge fund, SAC Capital Advisors, a development that signals a newly aggressive phase in the multiyear inquiry, according to lawyers and executives briefed on the case.

Issued last week, the grand jury subpoena came as part of a broader round of requests from criminal authorities. Other SAC executives were also named in the subpoenas, the lawyers and executives said, and the fund itself received requests for information about its activities.

The subpoenas suggested that federal prosecutors and the F.B.I. are intensifying their efforts to build a case, not only against SAC executives, but also the fund itself. Typically, a grand jury will hear testimony and review evidence before deciding to approve an indictment.

We saw new positions taken in Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) of 1 million shares and in Hess Corp. (NYSE: HES) at 2.7 million shares. Family Dollar Stores Inc. (NYSE: FDO) was a new stake and that was put at 5 million shares.

Some 2.8 million shares were also seen in Vodafone Group PLC (NASDAQ: VOD) which is likely an arbitrage play of sorts in a Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) deal over Verizon Wireless. Paulson also has a merger-arb piece left over in H. J. Heinz Company (NYSE: HNZ) with a stake of 1 million shares.

Cobalt International Energy, Inc. (NYSE: CIE) was a new position, but this was put at about $80 million in shares and in debt securities combined. InterOil Corporation (NYSE: IOC) was a new stake of 1.87 million shares.

MGIC Investment Corp. (NYSE: MTG) was a new stake of 17 million shares which has since risen in value, but there was an additional $152 million in debt securities held there.

Paulson’s position in the SPDR Gold Shares (NYSE: GLD) was listed as 21,837,552 shares worth some $3.37 billion as of March 31. That compares to a December 31, 2012 value of $3.538 billion. Based upon the closing price of $134.63 on Wednesday, that value would be down to $2.94 billion as of now.

Some of these positions were higher in the after-hours from the report. With Paulson under much more criticism than praise of late, you have to wonder if the cynical view of shorting Paulson’s picks may start to take shape. Just keep in mind that Paulson’s losses in gold might not mean that he makes bad decisions elsewhere and indefinitely.

PAULSON’s FULL HOLDINGS

It seems to be a safe assumption that the DJIA is probably destined to hit a new all-time high of 15,000 any day now. We recently gave a list of ten serious things that could derail the bull market. What we would point out is that at least three of those ten concerns have already come to pass, and arguably more. And the market keeps rising and stocks are again hitting new all-time highs. What does that tell you? We have lived under one mantra when it comes to investing. This is beyond buy low and sell high. If you think that the market is going to sell off based upon fair predetermined facts and it does not sell off, then the market is probably heading higher. The inverse of this is true as well.

It has almost becoming unsurprising that we found as many as 19 stocks where analysts see 50% to 100% upside in the stocks.

We outlined a blueprint for the bull market to continue in April and that has been spot on, with one exception. Our original DJIA target price of 14,590 is now 200 points old. We have to raise our price target, but the reality is that we cannot really do that right in the midst of the buying frenzy. We need a week for the dust to settle. Arguably that could have been last week, but now maybe it will be next week.

Merrill Lynch also gave a fresh list of stocks that will beat earnings estimates during this earnings season. Deutsche Bank also gave a list of stocks to buy even if you missed the bull market so far.

For the DJIA to hit 15,000 soon, you just need to understand that this is only another 1.35% for the market to rally. The S&P only needs to rise another 0.8% to hit 1,600 now. In today’s market, that could come from just one data set.

Stay tuned.

We thought our readers would like to have the opportunity to get a look at the list of names that are the highlighted institutional portfolio stocks from Oppenheimer for April. The interesting difference, when comparing this to a typical bulge bracket list of stocks to buy, is that the usual mega cap blue chip names are missing. Institutional investors do not need another report on General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) or Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT). They are looking for names with less coverage and more upside.

Most importantly, many institutions are looking for screened stock analytics and statistics that show positive breadth, alpha momentum and top quartile positioning in their respective universe. The Oppenheimer stocks exhibit all of those traits.

The following are the “favorable” institutional portfolio stocks from Oppenheimer.

Given the approaching tax deadline, H&R Block Inc. (NYSE: HRB) may be a timely name to look at. It typically does most of its business in the first half of the calendar year, the Thomson/First Call consensus price target for the stock is $28.50.

The maker of comfortable and expensive beds and cushions, Tempur-Pedic International Inc. (NYSE: TPX) is on the institutional list. In the first quarter, institutions and hedge funds bought 7 million shares of the stock, which represents almost 15% of the company’s stock float. The Wall St. consensus price target is $51.50.

With well-known, over-the-counter health products like Clear Eyes, Ludens and PediaCare in its portfolio, Prestige Brands Holdings Inc. (NYSE: PBH) is an Oppenheimer favorite. With numerous health care and household cleaning products to drive revenue, Prestige Brands could be a solid portfolio holding. The consensus estimate is $26.

Hitting 52-week highs as car sales have exploded, mega auto dealer CarMax Inc. (NYSE: KMX) grabs the right of way on the list. With sales coming from the lucrative used or “preowned” category, CarMax has excelled at generating consistent pricing to compete with branded auto dealerships. The consensus price target is $42.

Natural gas MLP Energy Transfer Partners L.P. (NYSE: ETP) is a surprise name on the Oppenheimer list. It is growing fast in the natural gas midstream, and intrastate transportation and storage businesses in the United States, and the stock pays investors a solid 7.10% quarterly distribution. The consensus price target is $52.

Entertainment content provider Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) has had investors on a wild ride over the past two years. Trading above $300, falling to below $60 and back to almost $200 is the epitome of volatility. Timing and nerves of steel may be the critical components here. The consensus price target for the stock is $131. That is far below its current trading level.

Based in the Netherlands, Vistaprint N.V. (NASDAQ: VPRT) provides both businesses and customers at home with a wide variety of office products and stationery. A beneficiary of the improving economy, this solid, if not boring stock has a consensus price target of $33.50.

Controversial hero-to-zero stock BlackBerry (NASDAQ: BBRY) makes the list. With the company’s last-ditch effort to revive its smartphone business, the stock may need a transformation. The consensus estimate for this volatile name is not posted at this time.

Speaking of volatility, the final pick, light emitting diode (LED) manufacturer Cree Inc. (NASDAQ: CREE), has a seat at the Oppenheimer favorable table. It has additional revenue coming from its semiconductor materials business, and the stock often takes a hit anytime the “green” stocks are in trouble. The consensus price target for Cree is $47.82.

Read also: 19 Stocks Analysts Picked to Rise 50% to 100% — or More!

Individuals that get a look at what institutions see are not necessarily bound for investing glory. However, a glimpse into the names that have positive metrics beyond the usual earnings and anecdotal data may add value when deciding on which names fit into a personal portfolio.

We are mostly evaluating E*Trade now for new investors who want to evaluate the online brokerage firm on a standalone basis. E*Trade will finally be free to govern itself much more independently if Ken Griffin is not the chief puppet-master. This is of course not an insult to Mr. Griffin, particularly considering that he did save E*Trade at the eleventh hour from the gallows.

You should now no longer expect that any bidder will magically appear with Citadel out of the way. That would be silly. Still, on a long-term basis, E*Trade will now more or less be free to make its own decisions, so long as it does not violate covenants or other existing financial restriction. The company has peeled off more of its old loan portfolio, but this is still the main drag for would-be buyers. Remember the “Take your mortgage with you” gimmick? That and other crazy loans hurt the company, and it is still perceived by some investors as a probable black hole on the balance sheet.

We saw reports that its loan portfolio is down another $3 billion year to date and is said to be down close to 70% from its peak and just over $10 billion. The delinquencies are still lower as well. What is hard to do here is to trust the numbers because the pain was so sharp. It almost imploded E*Trade, and Ken Griffin kept that from happening.

Citadel’s stake is 27,394,448 shares. We will not say that Citadel won’t maintain any influence due to trading relationships. Still, E*Trade’s relatively new management team will be freed up here.

Is it possible that The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE: SCHW) or T.D. Ameritrade (NYSE: AMTD) might take an interest again? Sure, but we would look for E*Trade to get further past the Citadel voting ties, and we would look for E*TRADE to get its loans in better and better shape.

E*Trade has about 2.9 million brokerage accounts now. There is value there, with a $3.2 billion market cap. E*Trade shares are down 5.8% at $11.13 on the news, against a 52-week range of $7.08 to $11.82. The company’s strategic review reportedly was not handled well, and the previous “go shop” effort was not really an active one. That being said, maybe toward the end of 2013 or next year things will be clean enough that a buyer might have an interest. As a reminder, it does not just have to be another online broker that is interested. Companies like Capital One Financial Corp. (NYSE: COF) and many other middle-market banks, brokers and trading firms might be interested, after the books are given the “all clear” sign.

The question to ask after it is entirely clean is what price E*Trade will be worth all on its own. Interest rates might be higher by then, and these firms can start making money off client deposits too. E*Trade’s value might still be much higher down the road than today’s value.

Just a few years ago, the common themes were out-of-control finances and out-of-control corporate leadership with no accountability to shareholders (nor to any moral hazards). The pendulum has now swung the other way, and perhaps it is starting to swing too far. Perhaps. Now anyone with access to millions of dollars or billions of dollars can aggressively go after a company for corporate governance issues. This can be over executive compensation, how a company should be capitalized, what forms of stock it should have, what terms it should have for a merger, whether it should split the roles of CEO and chairman, anti-takeover provisions, retirement compensation and on and on.

If you begged us to guess whether activism will grow or contract, we would think that activism will continue. Does that mean that there is not a risk nor that this is a bubble that will not burst and end badly for the public? Those are complicated issues and it may be quite some time before we know the answer. What is so interesting here is that the activist world very recently has targeted what may be hundreds of billions dollars worth of companies.

There are many instances where we cannot help but wonder if an activist bubble is helping to bolster many stocks. For starters, activists can often drive up a stock and create wonderful value. Sometimes they can get out of control, and sometimes they can go out and create absolute value destruction. The saying “there is no free lunch” is one that cannot be ignored, even by activists.

One big activist dilemma is General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE). GE is so large that forcing change is hard to do, but calls have been made over and over to break up the conglomerate’s empire. The problem is that weak units during one part of the business cycle act as cover for the other units when the business cycle changes. An activist might have said that GE needed to not cut its dividend during the recession, but this freed up enough capital that it probably saved quite literally tens of thousands of jobs at GE in the recession. Others have called for new leadership other than Jeff Immelt, while Immelt’s greatest blunders may simply have been that he took over after Jack Welch, when GE was trading close to 30 times earnings, and Immelt’s first day as CEO was quite literally a few days before the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

A few powerful men with many financial backers behind them have gone after some really big companies. Again, this train is moving what is nothing short of hundreds of billions of dollars worth of companies. What you have not seen is why this may be a bubble. There is a serious risk in driving shareholder value in the short-term. Anyone can go in and propose layoffs, a spin-off, a recapitalization, a change in management and the like. The problem is that this effort can gut a company or it can merely be a win during one part of the business cycle.

Many efforts can be taken to unlock shareholder value. Special dividends can be issued. Debt can be taken on to pay a dividend or to buy back shares. Companies can go out and seek strategic alternatives. Companies can make their boards easy to change or they can get rid of any barriers that might lead to takeovers. There are dozens of more things they can do. The question to ask is whether creating short-term value comes at the cost of adding too much long-term risk. These risks are potentially serious issues that investors chasing activists have to consider.

Balsillie was formerly one of the largest shareholders, with more than 26 million shares. The date is very delayed, as well as the as-of date, which turns out to be Dec. 31, 2012. Balsillie’s opportunity costs might have been huge. We do not know at what date the sales started, but RIM shares closed out 2012 at $11.87 and peaked above $14.00 earlier in December. Before that, all you have to do is to go back as recently as November 21 to see RIM shares back under $10.00. The lowest price of the fourth-quarter was listed as $7.27, and that was on October 1.

We would note that Michael Lazaridis shows in the same sort of filing that he held some 29,904,297 shares as of December 31, 2012.

What is interesting is that BlackBerry shares are up 3% at $14.40, even after the Balsillie filing was made known. BlackBerry shares have traded in a 52-week trading range of $6.22 to $18.32.

On key sale was in Web.com Inc. (NASDAQ: WWWW) saw director Anton Levy sold over 2.3 million shares for almost $41 million in gross proceeds. He is still listed as holding more than 5.8 million shares.

AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE: AXS) saw director Charles Davis, sell more than 2.6 million shares worth more than $104.5 million on Feb. 11. Trident II LP was also listed as selling 2.736 million shares for more than $107.3 million. Both trades were listed as Feb. 11 but we would note that these are tied together.

Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) routinely sees other insider selling as part of planned share sale plans. Co-founder Larry Page sold more than $16.2 million worth of stock and co-Founder Sergei Brin sold more than $63.9 million worth of stock.

American Express Co. (NYSE: AXP) saw CEO Ken Chenault exercise more than 555,000 shares in options and sell 643,865 shares for some $39.8 million on Feb. 8.

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) saw founder Bill Gates unload yet another $275 million or so in common stock. Gates still holds more than 420 million shares but that was about 500 million shares held just about a year ago.

Silgan Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: SLGN) saw director Greg Horrigan sell 478,988 shares for more than $21.67 million in proceeds on Feb. 8.

TransDigm Group Incorporated (NYSE: TDG) saw CEO Nicholas Howley sold 165,000 shares for more than $22.9 million in Feb. 6.

Kellogg Co. (NYSE: K) saw chairman James Jenness have an option exercise that resulted in 371,500 shares sold for some $21.9 million on Feb. 8. President & CEO John Bryant had an option exercise and he sold some 196,568 shares for some $11.575 million on Feb. 7.

Nexstar Broadcasting Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: NXST) saw ABRY Broadcast sell more than $40 million between two insider entities on February 12.

Och-Ziff Capital Management Group LLC (NYSE: OZM) saw Dubai Holdings sell some 4.91 million shares for more than $49 million on Feb. 7, but we would note that this insider group (sovereign wealth) has more than 33.2 million shares.

24/7 Wall St. has tracked many of the large transactions which have been seen since Thanksgiving and since the election and some of the dollar sums are amazing. The risk of not selling to lock in gains now is also not just one of taxes: if the fiscal cliff is not resolved these insiders might have to wait through another recession for much higher prices.

These are just some of the insider sales we have seen of late in the $1 million and higher range in total per company since Thanksgiving and into December. Many of these are options exercised and are under planned executive share sales, so they are not solely intended to be signaling any reason for panic.

Broadcom Corporation (NASDAQ: BRCM) has seen more than $20 million worth of stock sold by insiders and founders since Thanksgiving. That being said, it is important to remember that this is still a controlled company under the founders.

Carrols Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: TAST) has seen key holder Jefferies Capital Partners LLC clean out its position on December 7. The sale was for 4.08 million shares a face value sale of almost $23.7 million.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation (NASDAQ: CTSH) has seen multiple officers sell since Thanksgiving through December 10. The tally was more than $33.5 million worth of stock via option exercises.

Crown Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: CCK) has seen John Conway (Chair, Pres, CEO) sell more than $9 million worth of shares after exercising options in December alone, but he sold almost $20 million after the election prior to the latest selling.

DISH Network Corporation (NASDAQ: DISH) has seen different sales from insiders after options were exercised to the tune of about $15 million worth of stock at face value.

Eaton Vance Corp. (NYSE: EV) has seen various officers sell about $18 million worth of shares from options exercised since Thanksgiving.

Expeditors International of Washington, Inc. (NASDAQ: EXPD) has seen more than $3.3 million worth of shares sold after options were exercised by its President of the Americas, CIO, and its VP of Global Customs.

Garmin Ltd. (NASDAQ: GRMN) has seen CEO Min Kao sell off a considerable portion of his shares. He has sold some $70 million or so in stock sales in the month of December alone. Kao has been an aggressive seller since September, but many of these share were after the inclusion announcement for the S&P 500 Index.

Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: GILD) had one incredible year and Chairman and CEO John Martin has sold more than $12 million worth of shares sold after options exercises. Other insiders have sold close to $8 million worth of stock after exercising options since Thanksgiving.

Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) sees routine insider selling by insiders and founders. That being said, Larry Page, Sergey Brin, and others have all been selling even in December after we noted Eric Schmidt and insider selling around Thanksgiving. The total is about $115 million so far in the month of December via share sales.

Kellogg Company (NYSE: K) has seen the Kellogg Foundation Trust sell more than $19 million worth of stock since Thanksgiving, but we would note that the trust still holds more than 75 million shares so this would be considered ongoing as the trust has only sold about 5% or 6% of its holdings in the last year.

Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE: LOW) has seen some $26 million from Thanksgiving through December 10 via options exercised by many different insiders.

Mastercard Inc. (NYSE: MA) has seen the Mastercard Foundation make 5 different sales for more than $22 million in September, but the group still lists its share count up many times higher in dollar terms because its holdings were listed as over 12.55 million shares.

NCR Corp. (NYSE: NCR) saw Chairman, CEO, and President William Nuti conduct an option exercise worth about $24.3 million and he turned around and sold these for more than $38.4 million on December 7.

Nexstar Broadcasting Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: NXST) has seen ABRY Broadcast Partners (under Royce Yudroff) sell more than $70 million worth of stock in the broadcast company during the first full week of December.

Noble Energy, Inc. (NYSE: NBL) has seen about $5 million worth of shares sold in insider sales transactions since Thanksgiving in options exercise sales by the Senior VP of International Operations, the head of Exploration, and from its President & COO David Stover.

Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) has seen two sales coming to about $1.7 million from the head of communications and from the general counsel in the first half of December.

Oceaneering International, Inc. (NYSE: OII) saw one director make two sales coming to more than $6.4 million worth of stock in December.

PetSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ: PETM) has seen multiple sales of about $3 million since Thanksgiving from officers such as the President/COO, SVP-Finance, and two others from option exercises.

PVH Corp. (NYSE: PVH) has seen various insiders selling, but one really stands out. Director David Landau sold some $233 million worth of stock on December 5.

Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE: RL) has seen insider selling pick up from the Lauren Family, LLC, something we would only expect to see more of as the lowest tax rates are set to expire. This has been more than $30 million worth of shares in December alone.

Salesforce.com, Inc. (NYSE: CRM) has seen very large numbers of insider selling. It looks like the floodgates opened up after the middle of November. Without being exact, the sum looks to be about $30 million worth of stock sold.

Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ: SBUX) has seen founder Howard Schultz sell more than $74 million worth of stock alone so far in the month of December. Other officers have sold as well, but this is the biggest sale seen of the lot.

TD Ameritrade Holding Corporation (NYSE: AMTD) has seen Joe Ricketts sell some $24.3 million worth of stock. Keep in mind that he is still in possession of more than 48 million shares.

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE: UNH) has seen President & Chief Exec Officer Stephen Hemsley conduct two option exercises worth more than $19.7 million to be turned around and sold for more than $32 million in December. He still holds shares worth more than $150 million.

YUM! Brands, Inc. (NYSE: YUM) has seen Chairman, CEO, and President David Novak exercise options worth $10 million and sold for more than $35.7 million in December alone. Other officers have sold about $6 million worth of stock after exercising options in December alone.

Again, these are just some of the sales seen and we tried to focus on the millionaire-making transactions and the empire-building transactions. Data taken from FinViz.com and from SEC filings.

JON C. OGG

We already addressed a nearly $200 million sale in the last week by Jeff Bezos of Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN). There are many other large insider selling transactions which have been seen from SEC filings as well. The insiders at Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) continue to sell shares. This is not really a new trend at Google but the dollar volumes still look big. Sergey Brin sold $57 million worth of stock, Eric Schmidt another $25 million worth, John Doerr another $13 million worth, and more than $10 million worth from a director named Shriram.   Progressive Corp. (NYSE: PGR) saw share sales in the last days of November  by Chairman Peter Lewis of more than 2 million shares coming close to $45 million worth of stock.

Whole Foods Market, Inc. (NASDAQ: WFM) saw shareholder Green Equity Investors unload shares in the last days of November worth close to $44 million. These shares were on top of very large gains on shares bought during harder times.

UnitedHealth Group Inc. (NYSE: UNH) saw CFO David Wichmann sell more than 800,000 shares for gross sale proceeds of more than $43 million in the final days of November.

Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE: EXP) saw multiple sales as well. A director (Hirsch) sold $36 million worth of stock, followed by another $16 million worth; Its President Steve Rowley sold $10.8 million worth of stock.

Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ: ISRG) saw Chairman Lonnie Smith sell almost $14 million worth of stock in a sale in the last days of November.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) saw CFO David Viniar sell 100,000 shares for gross proceeds of more than $11.8 million at the end of November.

DSW Inc. (NYSE: DSW) saw Chairman Jay Schottenstein sell more than 154,000 shares for gross proceeds of $10.5 million at the end of November.

Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) saw various executives sell close to $20 million worth of stock in the last days of November and start of December.

Zebra Technologies Corp. (NASDAQ: ZBRA) has seen EVP Gerhard Cless sell almost $7.5 million worth of shares at the end of November and start of December.

Again, it is not hard to imagine why directors and insiders would be selling into year-end. It is highly probable that capital gains taxes will never be at 15% for the wealthy again. If they wait to sell after the first of the year they will be selling at higher tax rates and they are taking the risk that the US drives off the fiscal cliff.

JON C. OGG