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UPDATE: David Einhorn Essentially Confirms Herbalife (HLF) Short

January 23, 2013 12:30 PM EST
(Updated - January 23, 2013 12:44 PM EST)

David Einhorn Greenlight Capital may have just confirmed he is short Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE: HLF).

In his Q4 letter, while not mentioning Herbalife by name, he comments "Our coffee was too hot, our apple was bruised, and our iron supplements didn't go down smoothly."

The "coffee" refers to his short on Green Mountain (Nasdaq: GMCR), "apple" is of course Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL). The "iron supplements" "down" comments seem to suggest a confirmation of a short on Herbalife.

In May, Einhorn made waves after questioning Herbalife management on a conference call. At the same time, fellow hedge fund investor Bill Ackman was investigating the company and has since built a massive short position and went public with his short, calling the company a "pyramid scheme."

Shares of HLF are down 2% intra-day to $43.22.

UPDATE: In addition to a possible HLF short confirmation, the "iron supplements didn't go down smoothly" comments from Einhorn's Q4 letter is more likely related to his new bearish thesis on iron ore. Einhorn said he has shorted a number of stocks in the sector. "Our view is that after a decade-long bull market, supply is now exceeding demand," he said.

UPDATE 2: According to afternoon reports from Dow Jones, David Einhorn was short HLF in 2012 but no longer has bet.


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