By Boyd Erman
Hedge fund manager David Einhorn thought he saw value in Research In Motion (RIMM) late last year, but already it appears he's reconsidering.
Einhorn's Greenlight Capital bought 3 million shares of Research In Motion in the fourth quarter, establishing a position, according to securities filings. In the first quarter, that position was down by about half to 1.5 million shares, according to the latest disclosure of Greenlight's holdings.
That suggests Einhorn's dalliance with Research In Motion cost his fund about $7.5 million, as the stock declined from a trading range around $20 in the fourth quarter to about $15 in the first quarter.
It's not a big loss for Einhorn, but it's a bit of a blow to Research In Motion. His position in Research In Motion had created a hint of a buzz for the company when it was disclosed in February, leading to a decent pop in the stock. After all, Einhorn also owned Apple (AAPL) and Microsoft (MSFT), so including Research In Motion in his stable of tech companies seemed to signal that the value-hunting manager had seem some hope for the mobile phone maker.
There's some comfort in the fact that Research In Motion was not alone. Einhorn trimmed stakes in many of his technology holdings in the quarter.
Disclosure: None.
