I found this in this week's BusinessWeek Online:
Vinik, 38, declined to be interviewed for this story. But information from competitors, Securities & Exchange Commission filings, and other sources suggests that, if anything, he is making proportionately even larger and quicker bets than he did at Magellan. Since more than 80% of his investments are now in small and midsize companies, he can be a more nimble player. Says Bob Gabele of CDA/Investnet in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.: ''His duration in companies is a lot shorter-term than many money managers.''
His style is drastically different from the best known Magellan manager, Peter Lynch. Lynch espoused long-term investing in companies with strong fundamentals. Vinik follows the so-called momentum strategy, buying stocks showing strong upward movement. One Wall Streeter considers him ''a poster child for momentum players. He takes big stakes in companies not based on research or fundamentals but on trading strategies.''
At Magellan, Vinik had a reputation of building up a huge position in a stock, which pushed up the price. When the action attracted other investors, he would quickly unload his position. By all accounts, he is continuing that strategy--with a twist. He now often buys more than 5% of a company's outstanding stock, requiring him to disclose the position to the Securities & Exchange Commission in a 13D filing no more than 10 days after the purchase. Since last November, Vinik has made more than twenty 13D filings, including Converse, USFreightways, and Pacific Sunwear of California (table). The 13Ds attract even more followers. ''Clearly, Vinik is someone prominent in the public eye, and when news of his purchases become public, stocks can move up dramatically, to his benefit,'' says Cary Krosinsky, vice-president for research at Technimetrics Inc. in New York.
SHOOTING STAR. Vinik, Krosinsky adds, has a penchant to ''squeeze'' short-sellers by buying up a large portion of the outstanding float, something he would have had a hard time doing at Magellan, where he was dealing mostly in large-cap stocks. ''Frequently, all this happens very quickly, and a stock shoots up,'' says Krosinsky. That allows Vinik to cash out, often rapidly deflating the stock.
Vinik is considered a major shareholder, at least by Thomson Financial Services Research, of ACRT.
Am I a worrier, or does this bother any of you guys too? |
