Contrarian Corpus

422 documents showing 121–180

Trian Partners 2024-03-01

The Walt Disney Company DIS

Disney lost its way under a distracted, unaccountable board; replacing two directors with Peltz and Rasulo restores focus on DTC margins, CEO succession, and capital discipline.

N5 V4 C4
Trian Partners 2024-03-01

The Walt Disney Company DIS

Disney's decade of underperformance stems from a passive Board; Trian's nominees Peltz and Rasulo will fix CEO succession, right-size legacy media, and drive DTC to Netflix-like 15-20% margins by 2027.

N5 V4 C4
Kerrisdale Capital 2024-02-26

Carvana Co. CVNA

Carvana at $70 is priced as a tech disruptor, but it's 'just a dealership' with CarMax-like unit economics and a levered balance sheet — fair value is $16, -77%.

N4 V3 C3
Ancora 2024-02-05

Norfolk Southern Corporation NSC

Norfolk Southern's safety and operating failures — epitomized by the preventable East Palestine derailment — require replacing CEO Alan Shaw and reconstituting the Board with independent nominees.

N3 V2 C1
Ancora 2024-02-01

Elanco Animal Health ELAN

Elanco has destroyed billions under CEO Simmons and an insular classified board; replacing four directors at the 2024 AGM installs accountability and unlocks the animal-health turnaround.

N4 V4 C4
Trian Partners 2024-02-01

The Walt Disney Company DIS

Disney squandered a winning hand through a weak, unfocused Board; electing Peltz and Rasulo brings the shareholder mindset needed to reverse years of TSR underperformance.

N3 V3 C3
Muddy Waters 2024-01-25

CPI Property Group S.A. CPIPGR

CPI PG's Italian landbank and St. Tropez villa deals show ~€100M in unexplained cash and receivables gaps, suggesting controlling shareholder Vitek is using bondholder money to strip assets and launder cash.

N4 V3 C2
Engine Capital 2024-01-22

Parkland Corporation PKI

Parkland's entrenched board has driven a decade of peer underperformance and a sector-low 6.9x multiple; a shareholder-led board refreshment is needed to close the valuation gap.

N4 V2 C2
Muddy Waters 2023-11-30

CPI Property Group CPIPGR

Follow-up to Muddy Waters' Part 1 report: a list of pointed questions challenging CPI Property Group to explain self-dealing transactions through which controlling shareholder Radovan Vitek is allegedly asset-stripping the company.

N3 V1 C1
Elliott Management 2023-11-29

Phillips 66 PSX

Phillips 66 has lost investor trust by taking its eye off refining; adding two refining-experienced directors — and Marathon's 2019 playbook if targets slip — unlocks ~75% upside to $205+.

N4 V2 C2
Muddy Waters 2023-11-21

CPI Property Group S.A. CPIPGR

Muddy Waters is short CPI PG's credit: controlling shareholder Radovan Vitek is brazenly looting the company via undisclosed related-party deals — ~50% of €1.2bn examined transactions appear suspect.

N4 V3 C3
Citron Research 2023-11-06

Apellis Pharmaceuticals APLS

Citron shorts Apellis, arguing its new Geographic Atrophy drug Syfovre faces an imminent FDA warning as AAO ophthalmologists reject it 83%-17% and vasculitis cases mount.

N4 V2 C2
Muddy Waters 2023-11-01

Sunrun RUN

Sunrun's Subscriber metric is fabricated — inflated ~20% above EIA filings — letting it overclaim ~$205M in IRS tax credits and prop up a fictitious valuation; Muddy Waters remains short.

N4 V2 C1
Ancora 2023-10-17

Forward Air Corporation FWRD

Forward Air's $3.2B Omni Logistics deal destroys shareholder value; block the deal, replace CEO Tom Schmitt and the Board, and shares rerate to $140-$145.

N4 V3 C3
Bluebell Capital 2023-10-04

BP plc BP

BP trades at a 44% discount to US majors because Looney's pivot away from oil & gas destroys value; reverse the strategy, return capital, and unlock 50%+ upside.

N4 V2 C1
Starboard Value 2023-09-12

GoDaddy Inc. GDDY

GoDaddy has missed its 2022 Investor Day targets as Tech & Dev expenses ballooned; cutting costs to a 40% growth+profitability exit rate and adding a Starboard director unlocks a ~40% valuation re-rating.

N4 V3 C2
Muddy Waters 2023-08-04

Vivion Investments

Vivion's proposed bond exchange rests on inflated UK hotel valuations — illustrated by Crowne Plaza Heathrow, marked at EUR94.6m versus CBRE's EUR72.9m — serving insiders, not bondholders.

N4 V2 C3
Kerrisdale Capital 2023-06-15

Carvana Co. CVNA

Carvana is a poorly-run subprime used-car retailer buried under $6.5bn of debt; the recent 165% rally is a loan-sale mirage and the equity is worth zero.

N4 V3 C3
Muddy Waters 2023-06-07

Chinook Therapeutics KDNY

Chinook manipulated 2021-2022 revenues via its Chinese JV SanReno; strip out the accounting tricks and reported revenue collapses by 95% and 68% respectively, reinforcing our short.

N4 V2 C1
Muddy Waters 2023-05-16

Chinook Therapeutics Inc KDNY

Muddy Waters is short Chinook (KDNY): lead drug atrasentan is inefficacious, harmful, and blocked by sparsentan's IgAN orphan-drug exclusivity — FDA approval is highly unlikely.

N4 V2 C2
Elliott Management 2023-05-11

The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company GT

Retail stores alone could be worth nearly Goodyear's entire market capitalization

N5 V4 C4
Starboard Value 2023-05-05

LivePerson, Inc. LPSN

LivePerson's Founder-CEO LoCascio has destroyed value and ignored governance; Starboard is launching a 2023 proxy fight to force a CEO change or sale of the company.

N4 V2 C2
Engine Capital 2023-04-20

Parkland Corporation PKI

Parkland's board re-nominated its 24-year chairman and set sub-cost-of-capital ROIC targets; Engine urges shareholders to WITHHOLD on all incumbents to force governance, pay, and portfolio reform.

N3 V1 C1
Citron Research 2023-04-19

Freedom Holding Corp FRHC

FRHC funnels 85% of revenue through a CEO-owned Belize affiliate (FFIN) sourcing Russian flows — an FTX/Alameda structure that should trigger restatement, sanctions violations, and Nasdaq delisting.

N4 V2 C1
Bluebell Capital 2023-04-12

Glencore Plc GLEN

Glencore's unsolicited Teck bid is structurally flawed; Glencore should first demerge thermal coal, Oil Marketing and Viterra, then merge with Teck to unlock a world-class transition-metals leader.

N4 V1 C1
Muddy Waters 2023-03-28

Vivion Investments

Muddy Waters stays short Vivion bonds: the December 2022 rebuttal is misleading, asset values are inflated, rent24 exposure is hidden, and shareholder loans are being cashed out with bondholder money.

N3 V2 C2
TCI Fund 2023-03-23

Cellnex Telecom, S.A. CLNX

Cellnex is a great asset hobbled by a board that botched CEO succession; TCI will move at the AGM to remove Kan, Shore and Reich and seat its own director.

N3 V2 C1
Engine Capital 2023-03-22

Parkland Corporation PKI

Parkland's conglomerate mix of retail, refinery and distribution trades at a 3-turn discount to Couche-Tard; spin the non-core assets and refresh the stale board to unlock ~$45/share, roughly 55% upside.

N4 V2 C1
Soroban 2023-02-22

Union Pacific Corporation UNP

UNP owns the best Class I rail franchise but ranks worst on every metric under CEO Lance Fritz; bringing back operator Jim Vena could double the stock to ~$400 by 2025.

N5 V4 C4
TCI Fund 2023-02-20

Airbus SE AIR

TCI urges Airbus to abandon the 29.9% Evidian stake — a value-destructive, politically-motivated bailout of Atos that distracts management from fixing aircraft delivery shortfalls.

N4 V2 C1
Ancora 2023-02-08

Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers RBA

Back the amended RBA-IAA merger: $350-900M of synergies, a Starboard/Ancora-refreshed board, and Luxor's anti-deal case is flawed — RBA should re-rate from $62 to ~$130.

N4 V3 C3
Trian Partners 2023-01-12

The Walt Disney Company DIS

Disney's world-class IP is being squandered by a board that overpaid $52bn for Fox, bungled CEO succession, and is bleeding streaming losses — add Nelson Peltz to restore discipline.

N4 V3 C3
Oasis Management 2022-12-21

Digital Garage, Inc. 4819 JT

Digital Garage's fintech payments arm is starved by a distracted conglomerate; spinning off FinTech and dumping the Kakaku.com stake unlocks ~100% upside amid Japan's cashless boom.

N3 V2 C1
Oasis Management 2022-12-21

Digital Garage Inc. 4819 JT

Digital Garage is missing Japan's cashless-payments wave; spinning off DG Financial Technology, divesting Kakaku, and refocusing management would nearly double the stock and lift profit before tax from JPY4.5bn to JPY11.4bn.

N4 V2 C1
Palliser Capital 2022-12-19

Capricorn Energy PLC CNE

Capricorn's board is destroying value by forcing a low-ball NewMed sale; replacing seven directors unlocks up to 400p per share via Palliser's Value Optimisation Plan.

N4 V2 C1
Muddy Waters 2022-12-14

Vivion Investments S.à.r.l.

Vivion's €1.44bn bond issuer is a multi-billion euro shell game — fabricated shareholder loans, inflated occupancy and fair value gains, and related-party rents enriching controlling shareholder Amir Dayan.

N4 V2 C2
Muddy Waters 2022-11-16

DLocal Ltd. DLO

Muddy Waters is short DLO: contradictory TPV disclosures, implausibly high FX-driven take rates, governance failures and ~$1bn of insider selling point to likely fraud at the Uruguay-based payments processor.

N4 V2 C2
TCI Fund 2022-11-15

Alphabet GOOGL

Alphabet's cost base is bloated — headcount up 20% CAGR since 2017, pay 67% above Microsoft, Other Bets bleeding $20bn; cut costs, target a 40% Google Services margin, and buy back stock aggressively.

N4 V3 C2
Palliser Capital 2022-10-27

Capricorn Energy CNE

NewMed's all-share bid for Capricorn hands shareholders a 42% discount and a self-serving board deal; a cash-return plus Egypt-focused optimisation path unlocks 400p/share instead.

N5 V4 C4
Kerrisdale Capital 2022-09-01

AST SpaceMobile, Inc. ASTS

AST SpaceMobile is a $1.8bn 2021-SPAC promoting a physically implausible direct-to-handset satellite broadband dream; the technology won't work as hyped, timelines keep slipping, and SpaceX/Apple competition eliminates any lead.

N4 V2 C2
Muddy Waters 2022-08-25

Hannon Armstrong Sustainable Infrastructure Capital HASI

HASI is 'dumb money' in renewables JVs — sponsors cash out while HASI books non-cash HLBV income on investments unlikely to ever pay out, inflating reported earnings over real economics.

N4 V2 C1
Palliser Capital 2022-08-09

Capricorn Energy PLC CNE

Capricorn's board must withdraw its Tullow merger recommendation — a nil-premium takeover that hands Capricorn's cash to junk-rated creditors while standalone value of 330p offers 67% upside.

N4 V3 C3
Muddy Waters 2022-07-12

Hannon Armstrong Sustainable Infrastructure Capital HASI

HASI is a short: its GAAP and non-GAAP 'Distributable Earnings' are inflated by three non-cash accounting tricks and roundtripped SunStrong loans, masking a cash-losing, capital-raise-dependent business.

N4 V2 C1
Starboard Value 2022-05-09

LivePerson, Inc. LPSN

Founder-CEO Rob LoCascio's unchecked power has produced repeated missed commitments and a 70% stock decline from peak

N4 V2 C2
Starboard Value 2022-05-09

LivePerson, Inc. LPSN

Founder-CEO LoCascio has lowest Glassdoor approval among peers; toxic culture rewards loyalty over performance

N4 V3 C3
Carl Icahn 2022-05-01

McDonald's Corporation MCD

McDonald's board broke a 10-year promise to end gestation crates; replace Penrose and Lenny with two ESG experts to fix systemic governance and sustainability failures.

N4 V3 C3
Kerrisdale Capital 2022-04-01

Digital World Acquisition Corp DWAC

DWAC's $8bn pro-forma SPAC merger with Trump's TMTG will never close because the SEC is actively investigating it and can kill the deal via a stop order — fair value is the $10 trust cash (-80%).

N4 V2 C2
Engine Capital 2022-03-22

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt HMHC

Veritas's $21/share buyout of Houghton Mifflin steals the company for 7.6x 2024 UFCF; reject it and execute a standalone Dutch tender recap to reach ~$42 by 2024.

N4 V3 C3
Engine Capital 2022-03-22

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt HMHC

Veritas' $21 tender for Houghton Mifflin Harcourt steals value at 7.6x UFCF; a self-funded Dutch tender and standalone plan could deliver roughly $42 per share by 2024.

N3 V1 C1
Starboard Value 2022-03-08

Huntsman Corporation HUN

Huntsman failed all 2016 and 2018 Investor Day EBITDA and share-price promises

N4 V4 C3
Starboard Value 2022-03-03

Huntsman Corporation HUN

Huntsman underperformed the S&P 500 by 337% from IPO to Starboard's involvement

N5 V4 C4
Starboard Value 2022-03-02

Huntsman Corporation HUN

Huntsman has broken every major Investor Day commitment since 2014 — fooled shareholders three times

N5 V4 C4
Starboard Value 2022-02-28

Huntsman Corporation HUN

Huntsman returned just 80% since its 2005 IPO vs. 642-822% for peers, a ~562% deficit under CEO Peter Huntsman

N5 V4 C4
Starboard Value 2022-02-10

Huntsman Corporation HUN

Huntsman has underperformed peers by 575% since IPO and missed three straight Investor Day targets; elect four Starboard nominees on the BLUE card to restore board accountability.

N3 V2 C2
Starboard Value 2022-01-12

Huntsman Corporation HUN

A decade of missed EBITDA targets: 2014, 2016 and 2018 Investor Day aspirations all unmet

N4 V2 C2
Starboard Value 2022-01-12

Huntsman Corporation HUN

Three consecutive Investor Days (2014, 2016, 2018) missed EBITDA targets by hundreds of millions

N4 V2 C2
Kerrisdale Capital 2021-12-01

Astra Space, Inc. ASTR

Astra is a SPAC-bubble rocket company with no revenue, an undersized non-reusable vehicle, and fantastical 300-launch-a-year forecasts; shares should tumble back to the ground.

N4 V3 C3
Oasis Management 2021-10-26

Hokuetsu Corporation 3865

Hokuetsu's 13-year CEO resists change as its paper business declines; selling Daio Paper cross-holdings and pivoting to biomass power can quadruple market cap to ¥533.9bn.

N3 V1 C1
Muddy Waters 2021-09-15

Danimer Scientific DNMR

DNMR is a post-SPAC bioplastics story whose 'sold-out' demand, $200M take-or-pay contracts, and $1 trillion TAM are misrepresentations — actual utilization is ~28% and Novomer is a Hail Mary.

N4 V2 C1
TCI Fund 2021-08-31

Canadian National Railway CNI

CN, once the best-run Class I railroad, is now the worst under CEO Ruest; abandon the KCS deal and install Jim Vena to restore operational excellence.

N4 V3 C3