Greenlight Capital, the $9 billion hedge fund led by David Einhorn, boosted its stakes in Apple and Yahoo during the first quarter. The Apple move comes as Carl Icahn has been dumping its stake, with Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway taking a new stake.
Einhorn’s Greenlight Capital bought 1.93 million Apple shares during 1Q, worth $895 million. Apple shares have fallen 11 percent this year.
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David Einhorn, Greenlight Capital founder
Now, for Yahoo, it bought up 2.38 million shares in the embattled Internet company, putting its stake at $162 million as of the end of the firs quarter. Shares of Yahoo are now up 13 percent in 2016 as there’s renewed hopes it could get bought – possibly by Warren Buffett.
Other notable buys include Macy’s, where it added 316,800 shares, putting its total stake up to 7.1 million. Note that Starboard Value is an activist investor at Yahoo and Macy’s. At Yahoo, Starboard has board seats. At Macy’s, Starboard is pushing the company to spin off real estate, saying shares are worth $125 a share. It appears Einhorn is looking to ride the Jeff Smith and Starboard Value coattails.
Einhorn also added 1.4 million shares to its General Motors position, putting its total position at 15.3 million. Recall that in the first quarter investor letter, Greenlight says it bought more Yelp shares and took a new stake in apparel company PVH.
Mr. Einhorn’s letter disclosed that Greenlight bought more Yelp shares and initiated a stake in apparel company PVH
Then there’s the troubled SunEdison, where it increased its stake in the first quarter, but did note in an SEC filing that they had reduced their stake from 6.8% to 2.8%.
