Value investor loses big on Research In Motion
Prem Watsa, the CEO of Fairfax Financial, is averaging down his position in the stock.
Renowned value investor and CEO of Fairfax Financial (FRFHF) Prem Watsa has substantial paper losses from his investment in Research In Motion (RIMM) -- so far. Yet he was buying more as recently as three months ago.
Watsa started to buy RIM in the third quarter of 2010. He bought about 2 million shares when the stock was trading in the $50s. He then added to his position as the stock price collapsed to the $40s then $30s and $20s in 2011. The last time he bought was January of 2012. He doubled down on his position and bought another 14 million shares.
We estimate that his cost per share is around $30. He owned 26.8 million shares as of January 2012, which is about 5% of the shares outstanding. At the current price of around $12 a share, Watsa has had more than $400 million of paper loss on his position in RIM.
Watsa apparently has full confidence in the BlackBerry maker, as he has joined the board.
Averaging down is a method that Watsa has used over and over in the past to buy companies he likes at lower prices. He shared his success with International Coal (ICO) in his latest annual shareholder letter.
He started buying International Coal at $4.58 a share in 2006. He bought 21 million shares at the cost of about $4.5 a share. The stock then dropped all the way to $1.2 a share, and he bought another 24 million shares at about $2.5 a share. Eventually, the stock price recovered and he started selling at $7.26 a share. He sold most of his shares at $14.6 a share.
The key to averaging down is to have confidence in the company. Watsa certainly displayed great confidence in the recovery of RIM. If you have the confidence, too, you can now buy the shares at much lower prices than Watsa has paid.
GuruFocus.com tracks the stocks picks and portfolio holdings of the world's best investors. On top of daily articles, the site offers stock screeners and valuation tools. GuruFocus provides value-oriented stock ideas sent to Premium Members.
More from GuruFocus
MORE ON MSN MONEY
DATA PROVIDERS
Copyright © 2013 Microsoft. All rights reserved.
Quotes are real-time for NASDAQ, NYSE and AMEX. See delay times for other exchanges.
Fundamental company data and historical chart data provided by Thomson Reuters (click for restrictions). Real-time quotes provided by BATS Exchange. Real-time index quotes and delayed quotes supplied by Interactive Data Real-Time Services. Fund summary, fund performance and dividend data provided by Morningstar Inc. Analyst recommendations provided by Zacks Investment Research. StockScouter data provided by Verus Analytics. IPO data provided by Hoover's Inc. Index membership data provided by SIX Financial Information.
Japanese stock price data provided by Nomura Research Institute Ltd.; quotes delayed 20 minutes. Canadian fund data provided by CANNEX Financial Exchanges Ltd.
STOCK SCOUTER
StockScouter rates stocks from 1 to 10, with 10 being the best, using a system of advanced mathematics to determine a stock's expected risk and return. Ratings are displayed on a bell curve, meaning there will be fewer ratings of 1 and 10 and far more of 4 through 7.
128 | 268 | 471 | 585 | 652 | 595 | 673 | 422 | 262 | 141 |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
LATEST POSTS
Stocks are a bit lower this afternoon but well off their earlier lows.
FIDELITY VIEWPOINTS
- How to sell covered calls - Fidelity Investments
- Savvy year-end tax moves to consider now - Fidelity Investments
- Seven ways to prepare for tax changes
- Five reasons an annual review is crucial - Fidelity Investments
- Take a look at mid caps now - Fidelity Investments
- State of the sector: Health care - Fidelity Investments
VIDEO ON MSN MONEY
ABOUT
Top Stocks provides analysis about the most noteworthy stocks in the market each day, combining some of the best content from around the MSN Money site and the rest of the Web.
Contributors include professional investors and journalists affiliated with MSN Money.
Follow us on Twitter @topstocksmsn.