From David Einhorn's first quarter 2012 letter:
Last quarter, we noted that we had closed a brief and successful short position in Diamond Foods (DMND, Financial). Our thesis was that the company had engaged in significant accounting chicanery. When the stock fell by 66% a couple of months after the Partnerships established their position, we chose to cover and take a profit. We hadn’t changed our thinking about the accounting, but we were skeptical that anyone would do anything to actually curtail them is behavior. Imagine our surprise when DMND announced that its own audit committee had actually investigated, found the wrongdoing, restated earnings and dismissed the management. This sort of self-policing happens too infrequently and we think it deserves to be noticed and applauded.
Last quarter, we noted that we had closed a brief and successful short position in Diamond Foods (DMND, Financial). Our thesis was that the company had engaged in significant accounting chicanery. When the stock fell by 66% a couple of months after the Partnerships established their position, we chose to cover and take a profit. We hadn’t changed our thinking about the accounting, but we were skeptical that anyone would do anything to actually curtail them is behavior. Imagine our surprise when DMND announced that its own audit committee had actually investigated, found the wrongdoing, restated earnings and dismissed the management. This sort of self-policing happens too infrequently and we think it deserves to be noticed and applauded.
