Ackman gives up on Netflix, taking $400 mln loss as shares tumble (updated)

Pershing Square Holdings

21/04/2022 24:07

(Adds details on move)
    April 20 (Reuters) - William Ackman's hedge fund Pershing
Square Holdings Ltd said on Wednesday that it exited its Netflix
Inc  NFLX.O  investment as the streaming service's stock price
plunged and the billionaire investor absorbed more than $400
million in losses on the bet.
    The shares tumbled 35% on Wednesday to close at $226.19,
just 24 hours after the company announced that it had lost
subscribers for the first time in a decade.
    Ackman, who had become the company's most prominent backer
when he said he bought 3.1 million shares in January, reacted
quickly and boldly - selling everything.
    "While Netflix's business is fundamentally simple to
understand, in light of recent events, we have lost confidence
in our ability to predict the company's future prospects with a
sufficient degree of certainty," his hedge fund said in a
statement.
    

 (Reporting by Svea Herbst-Bayliss with additional reporting by
Tiyashi Datta in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila, Bernard
Orr)
 ((svea.herbst@thomsonreuters.com; +617 856 4331; Reuters
Messaging: svea.herbst.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))