This Hedge Fund Titan Thinks Microsoft's (MSFT) Ballmer is a 'Perpetual Loser'
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Hedge fund titan David Einhorn told an audience at the Ira Sohn Conference Wednesday night he thinks Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) CEO Steve Ballmer should take a hike.
Einhorn, President of Greelight Capital, believes Microsoft suffers from "Charlie Brown management."
Amid the bashing, Einhorn continued to recommend the stock, saying it trades at a "remarkable discount" to the S&P 500 index and outperforms the average S&P company. Microsoft has underperformed the S&P in four of the last five quarters.
Einhorn said Ballmer is the "biggest overhang on Microsoft stock."
After adding 1.39 million shares last year, Greenlight currently holds 9.07 million Microsoft shares. The stake, valued at about $221 million, is a small fraction of the 8.43 billion common currently outstanding.
Einhorn first spoke about Microsoft in 2006 when he began building a position. Earnings have more than doubled since, and Einhorn notes four of Microsoft's segments have shown improvement. With Microsoft shares going for about 9.8x trailing earnings -- a 34 percent discount to the S&P -- it is the best value shares have seen since 1992.
"Ballmer isn't taking advantage of Microsoft's opportunities," Einhorn quipped.
Microsoft rose almost 0.2 percent to close at $24.19 Wednesday. Shares are flat in pre-market action Thursday.
Einhorn, President of Greelight Capital, believes Microsoft suffers from "Charlie Brown management."
Amid the bashing, Einhorn continued to recommend the stock, saying it trades at a "remarkable discount" to the S&P 500 index and outperforms the average S&P company. Microsoft has underperformed the S&P in four of the last five quarters.
Einhorn said Ballmer is the "biggest overhang on Microsoft stock."
After adding 1.39 million shares last year, Greenlight currently holds 9.07 million Microsoft shares. The stake, valued at about $221 million, is a small fraction of the 8.43 billion common currently outstanding.
Einhorn first spoke about Microsoft in 2006 when he began building a position. Earnings have more than doubled since, and Einhorn notes four of Microsoft's segments have shown improvement. With Microsoft shares going for about 9.8x trailing earnings -- a 34 percent discount to the S&P -- it is the best value shares have seen since 1992.
"Ballmer isn't taking advantage of Microsoft's opportunities," Einhorn quipped.
Microsoft rose almost 0.2 percent to close at $24.19 Wednesday. Shares are flat in pre-market action Thursday.
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