(MENAFNEditorial)
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Money manager David Einhorn slammed the shale drilling industry that ushered in a new era of U.S. oil production as wasteful expensive and a terrible investment. Shale explorers including Pioneer Natural Resources Co. and EOG Resources Inc. plunged as investors heeded Einhorn’s remarks at the Sohn Investment Conference in New York on Monday.
Einhorn who manages $12 billion as president of Green light Capital said investors who are bullish on oil prices should avoid buying stock in producers and instead invest in the commodity itself. He singled out Irving Texas-based Pioneer for special attention.
“Pioneer burns cash and isn’t growing” said the 46-year-old Einhorn. “Why is the market paying $27 billion for this company?”
Pioneer fell as much as 5.3 percent for the biggest intraday decline since Feb. 11. EOG had been up as much as 2.5 percent before Einhorn’s comments triggered a sell-off that wiped out most of Monday’s gains. Both companies recovered some of those declines later: Pioneer closed 1.9 percent lower at $168.33 and EOG was up 0.5 percent.
Tadd Owens a spokesman for Pioneer didn’t immediately respond to a voicemail seeking comment. EOG spokeswoman K. Leonard also didn’t immediately respond.
On Monday Einhorn also singled out Concho Resources Inc. Whiting Petroleum Corp. and Continental Resources Inc. as examples of shale explorers that spend too much and generate too little cash. A Concho spokeswoman said she wasn’t immediately able to comment; spokespersons for Whiting and Continental didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
Shale explorers revolutionized North American oil and natural gas production with sideways drilling and hydraulic fracturing techniques honed in Texas Oklahoma and North Dakota. As a result U.S. crude output almost doubled in the past eight years to more than 9.3 million barrels a day more than every member of OPEC except Saudi Arabia (this was also mentioned in one of the Samurai Trading Academy lessons).
Einhorn has a long history of betting against companies within his New York-based hedge fund firm. He’s also a frequent speaker at the annual Sohn conference where he explains his rationale. The strategy has had mixed success.
In May 2008 he told investors they should bet against Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. because it needed more capital to recover from credit-market losses. Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy that September.
At the Sohn conference last year Einhorn said he was betting software company Athena health Inc. could fall as much as 80 percent. The prediction has yet to come true. For more information please visit http://samuraitradingacademy.com/pattern-day-trader-rule
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