Einhorn wants Seeking Alpha to disclose name of writer

Mark Melin of ValueWalk reports about how money manager David Einhorn of Greenlight Capital is threatening legal action against Seeking Alpha because one of its writers posted private information about one of Einhorn’s investments.

Melin writes, “In the court documents published by ValueWalk, Einhorn claims that publishing the hedge fund’s holdings of Micron securities during the fourth quarter of 2013 cost the fund because it ultimately drove up the price of shares.  On Nov. 14, seeking to keep its holdings confidential, Greenlight had requested confidential treatment from the Securities and Exchange Commission.  When the information was published by Seeking Alpha, Greenlight alleges in its suit that it could have only come from a person who had confidential access to the fund.  The disclosure on Seeking Alpha, filed by a person under the pen name ‘Valuable Insights,’ had a stake in Micron and financially benefited from the rise in the stock’s value.  Micron’s stock price moved higher after the post, from $18.92 on Nov. 13 to $19.46 on Nov. 15.  Einhorn ultimately disclosed his position in Micron on Nov. 21 at an investment conference in New York.

“For its part, Seeking Alpha has declined to identify the poster, but the profile on the web site says Valuable Insights is a ‘fund manager with more than 20 years of experience in the securities industry.’

“Media watchers say the case could be interesting as it approaches freedom of the press territory.  The key question going forward is: will Seeking Alpha protect its source, in this case a member of the web site who disclosed confidential information, or will Einhorn prevail?”

Read more here.