George Soros Boosts Stake In Hebalife Ltd.

Herbalife Ltd. HLF ticked up Tuesday after Bloomberg reported that investor George Soros has boosted his stake in the company. Herbalife changed hands recently at $33.48, up $0.70. Shares are off more than 36 percent since last summer amid investigations by federal and state regulators concerning its multi-level marketing model. The probes' launch followed a high-profile short-selling campaign by activist investor William Ackman that questioned the model. Ackman continues to believe Herbalife share price will drop to zero, and recently valued his bet at $1.2 billion, according to Reuters. Investor Carl Icahn who last year reported a 16.8 percent stake in Herbalife, continues to be vocal in support of the company, Reuters reported. Soros Fund Management cut its stake by 2.85 million shares, or about 60 percent, in the third quarter. Soros' expected about-face on its Herbalife holdings follows on the heels of Perry Capital's disclosure Friday that it had sold its Herbalife stake in the fourth quarter. The firm, headed by Richard Perry, sold about 5.6 million shares of Herbalife that were valued at $243.9 million at the start of the quarter, Bloomberg noted. On Friday, FMR LLC reported a 14.88 percent stake in Herbalife, up from 11.7 percent in April. Nomura Holdings 8.65 percent Capital Research Global Investors 12.2 percent, up from 6.85 percent in April and Susquehanna Advisors Group, Inc. 6.3 percent, down from 6.76 percent. Herbalife is slated to post earnings February 26 and has missed Wall Street's expectations in each of the past two quarters.