By Mia Lamar
Hedge fund manager David Einhorn raised his stake in Apple Inc.
(AAPL) in the fourth quarter, according to a regulatory filing
released Thursday.
High-flying Apple shares stumbled last quarter, falling 20% amid
concerns about the company's momentum and consumer demand for its
devices. The stock is down another 12% so far this year, closing
regular Thursday trade at $466.59, well off a September peak at
$705.07.
Mr. Einhorn's Greenlight Capital, which has owned Apple shares
since 2010, is currently in a high-profile battle with the
technology giant over its proposal to eliminate preferred stock
from the company charter. Apple, for its part, has called the
battle "a silly sideshow."
Greenlight's stake in Apple was increased by about a fifth in
the fourth quarter, to 1.3 million shares from 1.1 million shares.
The filing also showed a position of 275,000 call options. Call
options give shareholders the right to buy shares at a set price by
a designated date.
Among other major investments, the firm showed a new stake in
Google Inc. (GOOG), with 63,000 shares. The stake was valued at
$44.6 million as of Dec. 31.
The firm showed no stake in previous holdings Humana Inc. (HUM)
and WellPoint Inc. (WLP), among others. A short bet against
Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. (CMG) shares through 50,000 put options
was unchanged from the previous quarter.
Greenlight's total U.S. stock investments were worth $6.38
billion at the end of the fourth quarter, up from $6 billion at the
end of September. The firm, like others that control an investment
portfolio of more than $100 million, is required to report its U.S.
stock holdings to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission 45
days after the end of a given quarter.
Write to Mia Lamar at mia.lamar@dowjones.com
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires