Carl Icahn has had a difficult time in this
market. Most reports suggest he has dropped well over 50% of his
total value this year. His stake in Yahoo (YHOO) has been another recent loser, despite Icahn's
success of taking a minority position on Yahoo's board of
directors.
Today it was reported that Icahn bought more shares of Yahoo and
upped his stake in his own hedge fund. Yahoo was up nearly nine
percent on the news.
Icahn's increased stake, however, shouldn't be a surprise. He
bought in at around $25. For him not to increase his stake at sub
$10 would be more shocking. Moreover, it is a fact that only months
ago Microsoft (MSFT) offered Yahoo $33 a share. For Yahoo to
suddenly be worth less than $10 without a significant long term
fundamental change, does not make sense.
Icahn's purchase shows what seasoned investors do when the
market goes crazy. They simply buy more.
In Icahn's case, considering his recent major drop in overall
value, it is possible that even the billionaire is leveraged
heavily in the market. Where else would all this new money come
from? For him to increase his risk at a time when all else are
decreasing risk is a bold move that cannot be ignored. When Warren
Buffett bought significant positions last month, everybody thought
the worst was over. Now, Carl Icahn is reportedly buying. Shall we
open the champagne bottles once again?
I wouldn't get too excited: he upped his 4.9% stake to 5.4%. For
Yahoo stock to jump the way it did just shows the market is begging
for any excuse to recover and…