Einhorn & Greenlight Making Portfolio Changes (FSLR, DMND, DELL, XRX)

First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) and Diamond Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ: DMND) are rallying today, but on bits of news issued by either of these troubled companies.  CNBC reported that David Einhorn’s Greenlight Capital has closed out the ongoing short sell bets against these companies now that shares have fallen by an uncanny amount. The report on CNBC also noted that Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) was a new position along with Xerox Corporation (NYSE: XRX).

Closing out a short sale might not be bullish on its own, but it at least signals to some would-be speculators and long-term investors that the easy money to be made by betting against a company’s fortunes has already been made.  First Solar is up 4.3% at $41.72 versus a 52-week range of $29.87 to $175.40.  Diamond Foods is up 5% at $31.52 versus a 52-week range of $26.11 to $96.13.

Influencing change inside Dell is not going to be an easy task.  Michael Dell has a high amount of control in the company for 364 days out of the year.  Dell shares are up 1.8% at $16.37 against a 52-week range of $12.99 to $17.60.  Xerox shares are up 2.5% at $8.28 against a 52-week range of $6.55 to $11.73.

JON C. OGG