Marissa Mayer 'May Be Overpaid,' Hasn't 'Added Any Value'

Kevin Kelly was recently a guest on #PreMarket Prep, a daily trading idea radio show hosted by Joel Elconin and Dennis Dick.

Recon Capital Partners Chief Investment Officer Kevin Kelly took Yahoo! Inc. YHOO CEO Marissa Mayer to task, claiming that the high-profile CEO has not done anything to correct Yahoo's "poor fundamental business." And given the overhang with spinning off the Alibaba Group Holding Ltd BABA stake, Kelly said that the market is not going to be able to offer the core Yahoo a fair value until that is resolved.

However, it's unclear when that may be resolved. On Wednesday, the company announced that the Internal Revenue Service failed to offer its tax-free Alibaba spinoff pre-approval. Kelly said that it wasn't an overall rejection, rather more akin to a college deferring a student's acceptance until it could increase scrutiny.

That leaves the story "convoluted," Kelly said. As a shareholder, there's "not a lot of confidence" in the company because management has failed to create value. Given that, Kelly said that Mayer may be "overpaid," pointing to recent executives that have left the company as evidence that pay may exceed performance.

Yahoo shares gained 2 percent on Wednesday, largely the result of a 5 percent gain in Alibaba. Year-to-date, Yahoo shares have shed 37.6 percent versus a 0.4 percent increase in the Nasdaq 100.