Just a few days into April, a popular investor known for sharing his short ideas has already taken on Donald Trump, Cathie Wood and now Elon Musk with short bets and callouts.
What Happened: Seabreeze Partners Manager and Real Money Pro Contributor Doug Kass announced Monday morning he's shorting Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR), after shares ran up on news.
It was revealed Monday Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) CEO Elon Musk took a 9.2% stake in Twitter, leading to shares jumping over 25% according to Benzinga Pro.
“I already have an investment short in $DWAC, now I have a trading short rental in $TWTR (about $49.50) after the Musk announcement,” Kass tweeted.
Kass has been vocal recently about Digital World Acquisition Corp (NASDAQ:DWAC), the SPAC taking Donald Trump’s Trump Media & Technology Group public.
“Digital World Acquisition is not so worldly. The ‘brains’ – and chiefs of technology and product development – behind President Trump’s Truth Social’s technology and launch (Josh Adams and Bill Boozer) have left the company.”
Kass said he remains short shares of Digital World Acquisition while sharing that news of the executive departures had shares already down $10 Monday.
Another short favorite for Kass is Ark Innovation ETF (NYSE:ARKK), which he tweeted about Monday.
“I say buying ARK Invest $ARKK or any other related ETF is ‘playing with fire’ and that listening to Cathie Wood would be a mistake – she is trying to save her business but the Ark is sinking.”
The comments come as Wood said recently the Federal Reserve could be playing with fire by hiking the fed funds rate.
Kass is no stranger to taking on Cathie Wood with several posts in 2021 about the risk in investing in the ETFs from Ark Invest.
“Over the last two weeks I have cautioned about the risks that ARK’s virtuous cycle – perpetuated by massive inflows – runs the risk of being a vicious cycle should outflows commence as Cathie wood runs her portfolio at 200 miles per hour,” Kass said previously.
Related Link: Truth Social App Downloads Dropping, Will It Hurt The Trump SPAC Price?
Why It’s Important: Kass’ bet against Twitter appeared to be short term with him tweeting that he had covered parts of his position. He didn't lay out a case against Twitter.
The move comes as Musk took a large stake and could make changes. Investors appeared to react favorably to the news Monday and a short bet against Twitter and Musk could prove to be a costly one.
Many investors and short sellers bet against Tesla over the years and it has cost them millions. Kass has been short Tesla before, so betting against Musk might not be a huge surprise to anyone who follows him.
Kass was even so convinced on a short position in Tesla in 2014 that he helped rewrite the lyrics to “Nuthin’ but a “G” Thang” to “Nuthin’ but a P/E Thang.”
Outside of betting against Elon Musk, Cathie Wood and Donald Trump, Kass also is short Starbucks Corp (NASDAQ:SBUX) and shared a post Monday highlighting that the coffee giant is suspending a share buyback plan to spend the cash on stores and staffing.
Kass has also been known to go short companies that have exposure to Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) including MicroStrategy Inc (NASDAQ:MSTR) and Riot Blockchain (NASDAQ:RIOT).
Photo: Courtesy of Tesla Owners Club Belgium and Gage Skidmore on Flickr
