Tuesday, January 28, 2014

James Chanos: ‘We’re Still Short Caterpillar’

If pressed I'd have to agree with Mr. Chanos, the big cyclical is just too exposed to too many potential problem areas.
The stock is up $1.19 at $92.48
From MoneyBeat:
Short-seller James Chanos said he’s still betting against Caterpillar Inc. despite the company’s better-than-expected quarterly results.
Mr. Chanos, founder of hedge fund Kynikos Associates, said in July that he was shorting the world’s biggest maker of construction and mining equipment. Even after Caterpillar shares rallied 5.9% Monday following the company’s quarterly results, Mr. Chanos said he’s still betting against the stock.

“The only reason they beat [estimates] was because of two one-time items,” Mr. Chanos said in an interview with MoneyBeat. “This is a company that if you go back to last year’s earnings release, in January 2013, their outlook was wildly off the mark.”

He didn’t disclose the size of his position or whether it changed on Monday, or over the past six months.
Caterpillar said its fourth-quarter profit rose, helped by aggressive cost cutting, and forecast that sales would level off this year after dropping 16% in 2013. Shares rose 5.9% on Monday to $91.29, although the stock is still in the red over the past 12 months.

“I think the market saw the earnings beat and got excited, but if you look under the surface, we think they missed estimates for operating earnings excluding one-time gains,” Mr. Chanos added....MORE