Contrarian Corpus

188 documents showing 121–180

Pershing Square 2016-04-26

Multiple (Pershing Square portfolio: MDLZ, APD, ZTS, QSR, CP, HHC, VRX, NOMD, HLF-short)

Mondelez EBIT margin of 13.1% is far below peers (Kraft Heinz 26.5%, Hershey 20.0%) and well short of 3G playbook results

N3 V3 C2
Muddy Waters 2016-04-21

Ströer SE & Co. KGaA SAX

Ströer's digital-transformation narrative is hollow: organic growth is 10x overstated, EBITDA and FCF are inflated, and insider self-dealing rivals Chinese fraud cases — short.

N4 V2 C1
Muddy Waters 2016-03-08

Casino Guichard-Perrachon SA CO

Casino's claimed France recovery is fiction: Mercialys property gains inflate EBITDA, suppliers are being stretched, and the CFO's earnings-call language shows deception clusters.

N5 V1 C1
Pershing Square 2016-01-28

Pershing Square portfolio (multi-holding LP update: MDLZ, VRX, APD, ZTS, CP, QSR, HHC, PAH, FNMA/FMCC, HLF short)

2015 was -20.5% but portfolio trades at substantial discount to intrinsic value

N4 V3 C3
Muddy Waters 2016-01-13

Groupe Casino CO

Casino is a highly-levered, deteriorating French retailer being hollowed out by controlling shareholder Naouri and using property-sale gains to inflate EBITDA; equity worth ~€7 per share.

N4 V2 C1
Muddy Waters 2015-12-16

Groupe Casino Guichard-Perrachon SA CO FP

Casino's financial statements mask 8.9x leverage and inflated EBITDA via related-party Mercialys real-estate sales; shares are worth €6.91 vs €48.97, an 86% decline.

N4 V2 C2
Citron Research 2015-10-21

Valeant Pharmaceuticals VRX

Philidor and R&O Pharmacy are the same entity — evidence of phantom accounts to book revenue

N5 V3 C3
Muddy Waters 2015-10-15

TeliaSonera AB TLSN

Short TeliaSonera: disclosed Uzbekistan bribery is only the tip — ~SEK 17bn of suspect Eurasia/Nepal payments plus a multi-billion DOJ FCPA settlement threaten the dividend and cut stub fair value to SEK 27-29.

N4 V2 C1
Pershing Square 2015-08-01

Herbalife Ltd. HLF

Herbalife pays multi-level royalties on unlimited downlines, violating China's pyramid-sales laws

N5 V3 C2
Pershing Square 2015-06-26

Herbalife Ltd. HLF

CEO Johnson on video admits Herbalife participation is a 'lottery ticket' with 'pyramiding'

N3 V1 C1
Pershing Square 2015-04-28

Multiple (portfolio update: AGN, VRX, CP, APD, ZTS, HHC, QSR, PAH, FNMA/FMCC, HLF)

Allergan delivered 89% return as Valeant bid catalyzed auction ending at Actavis $242 vs. $128 cost

N3 V3 C2
Muddy Waters 2015-04-09

Noble Group NOBL

Muddy Waters is short Noble Group: a cash-burning commodities trader that manufactures EBITDA via sham affiliate transactions like the PT ALH $46M negative-goodwill scheme to keep credit flowing.

N4 V1 C1
Pershing Square 2015-02-26

Herbalife HLF

Former distributors lost $5K-$45K each chasing promised income that never materialized

N4 V1 C1
Pershing Square 2015-01-29

Multiple (Pershing Square portfolio - annual update)

2014 net returns of 40.4% vs S&P 500's 13.7%, driven by Allergan (+19.1%), CP (+7.0%), and Herbalife short (+6.1%)

N3 V3 C3
Pershing Square 2015-01-29

Multiple (Pershing Square Holdings portfolio: Allergan, Herbalife, Air Products, Canadian Pacific, Restaurant Brands International, Platform Specialty Products, Zoetis)

PSH returned 40.4% net in 2014 vs 13.7% for S&P 500

N3 V3 C2
Pershing Square 2015-01-29

Multiple (PSH portfolio: AGN, HLF short, APD, CP, QSR/BKW, PAH, ZTS, HHC, FNMA/FMCC)

Concentrated activist strategy delivered 40.4% net returns in 2014 vs. 13.7% for S&P 500

N3 V3 C3
Muddy Waters 2014-11-20

Superb Summit International Group Limited 1228.HK

Superb Summit's HK$773m of reported revenue belongs to a coal company it never owned, and its HK$1.5bn JFT acquisition is a sham valuation routed through a mystery intermediary.

N4 V2 C2
Pershing Square 2014-11-06

Herbalife Ltd. HLF

Herbalife is the largest and best-managed pyramid scheme in the world

N4 V2 C1
Muddy Waters 2014-07-06

NQ Mobile NQ

NQ's July 3 disclosures vindicate the fraud thesis: the audit chair resigned, PwC will never sign off, and insiders front-ran the news by dumping stock.

N4 V2 C2
Muddy Waters 2014-06-04

NQ Mobile NQ

NQ's own investigation committee confirmed widespread data tampering — the same pattern that preceded Sino-Forest's collapse — so Muddy Waters maintains its fraud rating.

N3 V2 C1
Spruce Point Capital 2014-05-20

iRobot Corp IRBT

IRBT is a narrow consumer-vacuum company riding a robotics bubble; aggressive accounting, insider selling and a decaying moat point to $20-$25, or 25-40% downside.

N4 V3 C3
Muddy Waters 2014-04-13

NQ Mobile NQ

NQ Mobile's surprise Q4 loss and negative cash flow under PwC's tougher audit confirm Muddy Waters' fraud thesis: revenue, acquisitions, and cash balances are all fabricated.

N4 V2 C1
Kerrisdale Capital 2014-04-07

BofI Holding BOFI

N3 V3 C3
Muddy Waters 2013-12-19

NQ Mobile, Inc. NQ

NQ Mobile's independent-committee fraud probe is structurally compromised; Muddy Waters offers to fund Plante & Moran to audit the auditors and protect investors from another China-fraud whitewash.

N4 V2 C2
Muddy Waters 2013-11-12

NQ Mobile NQ

NQ Mobile's credible-looking US management is a veneer hiding a $1.1bn fraud — Mathison conceals JCAP ties, Co-CEO Khan knows nothing, and pre-IPO partners include a convicted racketeer.

N4 V1 C1
Muddy Waters 2013-11-06

NQ Mobile NQ

NQ Mobile's largest purported revenue source, Yidatong, is a controlled shell whose offices, tax filings, and carrier records all contradict NQ's story — we maintain a <$1 target.

N4 V2 C1
Muddy Waters 2013-11-01

NQ Mobile (NetQin) NQ

Muddy Waters maintains its sub-$1 price target on NQ Mobile after Chinese media reporting confirms that ZTE, Huawei, Lenovo and Coolpad never had the pre-installation partnerships NQ claims.

N3 V1 C1
Muddy Waters 2013-10-29

NQ Mobile NQ

NQ Mobile's Oct 25 rebuttal of Muddy Waters' fraud report contained ten provable lies — Yidatong is NQ, revenue and market share are fabricated; reiterating price target under $1.

N4 V2 C2
Muddy Waters 2013-10-24

NQ Mobile Inc. NQ

NQ Mobile is a 'China Fraud 2.0': 72%+ of China revenue is fictitious, real market share is 1.4% not 55%, and the $127.9M cash balance is likely forged — target price under $1.

N4 V2 C2
Muddy Waters 2013-09-06

American Tower Corporation AMT

AMT's $4.8bn purchase of Global Tower Partners at ~19x 2014 EBITDA looks engineered to mask decelerating US organic growth and preserve 20% dividend-growth optics; maintain Strong Sell.

N3 V1 C1
Muddy Waters 2013-09-02

Olam International OLAM

Ten months after our initial short, Olam's FY13 results confirm the thesis: 1.8% ROA, S$800m cash burn, ossified board, no acknowledgement of the over-leverage problem.

N3 V1 C1
Muddy Waters 2013-08-12

American Tower Corporation AMT

AMT's $811M purchase of 4,456 NIHD towers at 21x EBITDA is a de facto loan to a near-bankrupt counterparty, masking weak growth and compounding accounting red flags from the prior Site Sharing deal.

N4 V1 C1
Muddy Waters 2013-08-01

American Tower AMT

AMT's international growth is a de facto lending / FX carry trade masking deteriorating economics, and ~$250M appears to have vanished from its Site Sharing acquisition.

N4 V1 C1
Muddy Waters 2013-07-17

American Tower Corp AMT

AMT is a Strong Sell at $44.57 (40% downside): a $250M Brazil accounting discrepancy hints at fraud, international growth is a disguised lending/carry trade, and Wi-Fi will erode tower economics.

N4 V2 C2
Pershing Square 2013-04-09

Herbalife Ltd. HLF

Herbalife distributors earn 10x more from recruitment than from retail product sales

N5 V2 C1
Muddy Waters 2013-02-08

Olam International Ltd. OLAM

Olam's Q2 2013 results confirm Muddy Waters' Strong Sell thesis: debt is spiraling (9.5x EBITDA), cash is burning, and management's acquisitions and Gabon project reveal haphazard planning.

N3 V1 C1
Muddy Waters 2013-01-24

Focus Media Holding Ltd. FMCN

New BVI registry evidence proves FMCN lied about its mobile-phone VIE acquisitions, reinforcing the long-running fraud thesis just as Carlyle's LBO consortium prepares to overpay.

N4 V1 C1
TPG-Axon 2013-01-18

SandRidge Energy SD

CEO Tom Ward's family entities systematically flipped Mississippian Lime mineral rights to SandRidge and competed for adjacent acreage—evidence of self-dealing that warrants a board investigation and potential termination.

N4 V3 C4
Pershing Square 2012-12-20

Herbalife Ltd. HLF

Formula 1 is a $2bn 'brand nobody's heard of' — sales economics defy any genuine consumer demand

N5 V4 C4
Pershing Square 2012-12-20

Herbalife Ltd. HLF

Herbalife is a pyramid scheme: distributors profit by recruiting, not retail sales

N5 V4 C4
Muddy Waters 2012-12-04

Olam International OLAM

Olam's surprise $750m Temasek-backed debt raise — at an effective cost over 10% — validates Muddy Waters' thesis that the company is days from collapse; Strong Sell maintained.

N3 V2 C1
Muddy Waters 2012-11-30

Olam International OLAM

Olam's 45-page rebuttal ducks Muddy Waters' real points; we'll pay S&P to rate Olam's debt and prove the market underprices its accounting and acquisition risk.

N4 V2 C2
Muddy Waters 2012-11-27

Olam International Ltd. SGX:O32

Olam is an Enron-style agri trader whose aggressive non-cash accounting, off-the-rails CapEx binge, and 9.3x leverage mask a failing trading business — equity likely worthless, bonds 14-33¢.

N5 V2 C1
Muddy Waters 2012-07-18

New Oriental Education & Technology Group EDU

New Oriental is hiding an extensive franchising operation, filing fraudulent tax-exempt financials in Beijing and using a cosmetic VIE — expect a restatement and Deloitte to resign.

N5 V2 C2
Muddy Waters 2012-02-09

Focus Media Holding FMCN

FMCN's 'independent' verification of its 185,174 LCD network counted 30,500 cardboard posters as LCDs, confirming Muddy Waters' fraud thesis and impugning all reported financials.

N5 V2 C2
Muddy Waters 2012-01-06

Focus Media Holding FMCN

FMCN's bizarre acquisition of a tiny border-town ginseng plantation from its own employee is fresh evidence the 'Olympus of China' is using fake M&A to launder fake cash off its books.

N4 V1 C1
Muddy Waters 2011-12-09

Focus Media Holding FMCN

FMCN's promise to have 'reputable' Chinese firms verify its LCD network is worthless — CTR, the firm most likely to be hired, previously rubber-stamped CCME's fabricated bus network.

N4 V2 C2
Muddy Waters 2011-11-29

Focus Media Holding FMCN

FMCN's rebuttal concedes Muddy Waters' core claims — inflated LCD network, 1,758% theater market share, phantom VIE acquisitions, and brazen insider self-dealing make the shares un-investable.

N4 V2 C2
Muddy Waters 2011-11-21

Focus Media Holding Ltd. FMCN

Focus Media is the Olympus of China: it inflates its LCD screen count by 50%, systematically overpays for acquisitions it writes off, and enriches insiders at shareholders' expense.

N5 V2 C2
Greenlight Capital 2011-10-17

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters GMCR

GMCR's $9 EPS bull case ignores a smaller TAM, falling K-cup attachment rates, a September 2012 patent cliff, and accounting shenanigans at fulfillment agent MBlock — realistic EPS is ~$3.50.

N5 V2 C2
Muddy Waters 2011-06-28

Spreadtrum Communications SPRD

Spreadtrum's 229.6% 2010 revenue jump cannot be reconciled with MediaTek's flat year, zero cash taxes were paid on $75M of profit, and CFO/auditor turnover points to material misstatement — Muddy Waters is short.

N4 V1 C1
Muddy Waters 2011-06-20

Sino-Forest Corporation TRE

Sino-Forest claims Huaihua Yuda is unrelated, but Muddy Waters shows Sonic Jita was once owned by TRE executives and still shares a key executive — undisclosed related-party transactions contradicting CEO Allen Chan's guarantees.

N4 V1 C1
Muddy Waters 2011-06-13

Sino-Forest Corporation TRE

TRE management's evasive Q1 call answers — unfinished E&Y review, undisclosed related parties, an unnecessary AI model, and dropped analyst questions — reinforce Muddy Waters' fraud thesis on Sino-Forest.

N3 V1 C1
Muddy Waters 2011-06-02

Sino-Forest Corporation TRE

Sino-Forest is a fraud: its Authorized Intermediary structure fabricates timber revenue, its Yunnan holdings are overstated by ~$900M, and equity is worth less than $1 vs. $18.21.

N5 V2 C2
Muddy Waters 2011-04-04

Duoyuan Global Water Inc. DGW

DGW is a massive fraud overstating revenue by 100x; forged PRC audits, empty factory, and related-party tunneling to Chairman Guo imply the stock is worth under $1.

N5 V2 C2
Muddy Waters 2011-03-02

China MediaExpress Holdings CCME

CCME is a fraud: a recorded salesperson admits doubling the bus count for SEC filings, and Chairman Cheng's rebuttal cited fabricated license plates — fair value $3.54 vs $12.27.

N4 V2 C2
Muddy Waters 2011-02-03

China MediaExpress Holdings CCME

CCME is a pump-and-dump: reported revenue is overstated ~5x, its bus network is half the claimed size, and management is cashing out — fair value $5.28 vs $16.61.

N4 V2 C2
Muddy Waters 2010-11-10

RINO International Corp. RINO

RINO is a near-zero: 94% of its reported revenue is fabricated, customers deny buying its FGD systems, and founders are draining cash via the VIE; fair value $2.45 vs. $15.52.

N5 V2 C2
Greenlight Capital 2010-10-13

The St. Joe Company JOE

St. Joe's Florida real estate empire is a value trap: developments are ghost towns, the airport catalyst is a bust, and the land is worth $7-10/share, not $24.54.

N5 V3 C3
Muddy Waters 2010-07-22

Orient Paper, Inc. ONP

AMEX-listed Orient Paper is a Chinese reverse-merger fraud: tax records, shell-company suppliers, and customer interviews show revenues and profits are fabricated by orders of magnitude.

N4 V1 C1