Einhorn Buys Out-of-Favor Sprint and BP
February 16, 2011 4:00 PM
(TheStreet) --David Einhorn's Greenlight Capital bought new stakes in wireless provider Sprint Nextel (NYSE: S) and oil firm BP (NYSE: BP) during the fourth quarter, picking up two companies shunned by most investors.
New York-based Greenlight Capital took seven new equity positions and closed out three. Overall, the hedge fund's reported portfolio grew in value to $4.9 billion as of Dec. 31 from $4 billion at the end of the third quarter.
While Einhorn added to and trimmed the fund's other picks, which include Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) and CIT Group (NYSE: CIT), his publicized bearish view of St. Joe (NYSE: JOE) gained him more notoriety in the final quarter of 2010.
Bruce Berkowitz, manager of the Fairholme Fund (FAIRX), has gone head-to-head with Einhorn over the real estate development company's prospects. Berkowitz owns nearly 30% of St. Joe and hopes to unlock shareholder value with an overhaul to the company. Berkowitz today proposed replacing the company's board.
Einhorn, on the other hand, told the Value Investing Conference in October that St. Joe was trading at three times its intrinsic value. Einhorn's short views have gained much attention after he was correct in his bearish call on Lehman Brothers before the bank become the largest bankruptcy in U.S. history during the financial collapse of 2008.
