Einhorn Could Have a Mining ETF Problem

Last week, when shares of J.C. Penney (NYSE:
JCP
) plunged and rumors about Herbalife (NYSE:
HLF
GDX
). What is not debatable is the fact that Greenlight held
6 million shares of GDX
at the end of the fourth quarter. That is the same amount the hedge fund owned at the end of the third quarter of 2012 and, to put things delicately, that trade is not going in Einhorn's favor. GDX, which is home to 31 stocks including Barrick Gold (NYSE:
ABX
), Goldcorp (NYSE:
GG
) and Newmont Mining (NYSE:
NEM
held stakes in several GDX holdings
, including Barrick, Agnico-Eagle Miners (NYSE:
AEM
), AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:
AU
), Gold Fields (NYSE:
GFI
) and Randgold Resources (NASDAQ:
GOLD
). Those stocks combine for roughly 29 percent of GDX's weight. Paulson & Co. also owned over 21.8 million shares of the SPDR Gold Shares (NYSE:
GLD
) at the end of the fourth quarter. The largest ETF backed by physical gold is now down more than 19 percent this year. George Soros may be having some problems with GDX and the Market Vectors Junior Gold Miners ETF (NYSE:
GDXJ
SPY
) on their own and generated superior returns relative to the miner's trade. For more on gold miners, click
here
.
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