David Einhorn, everyone’s favorite short seller (well, not everyone), said he was shorting Martin Marietta Materials at the Ira Sohn Conference today, and the producer of construction materials promptly dropped 8.3 percent. Over at the other end of the Nasdaq, Herbalife surged, presumably on news that Mr. Einhorn had not presented an argument for shorting the nutritional supplement maker.
Herbalife, you’ll remember, is the company that lost nearly one quarter of its value two weeks ago after Mr. Einhorn asked executives some questions about the company’s business model on an investors’ conference call.
Seriously folks, this seems a bit ridiculous. The guy isn’t always right. Steve Ballmer is still running Microsoft. The Wilpons are still ruining the Mets.
UPDATE: Herbalife had gained 17 percent when markets closed, which, you know, Mr. Einhorn never said he wasn’t shorting the stock.
[Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images]
