The hedge-fund manager who may have made the best bet on coronavirus is turning optimistic.
Published: April 6, 2020 at 10:47 a.m. ET, By Steve Goldstein
Bill Ackman, the Pershing Square fund manager who turned $27 million into $2.6 billion after a series of bets using credit-default swaps in February, tweeted messages on his newfound optimism.
“I am beginning to get optimistic,” he tweeted, saying cases appear to be peaking in New York and that nearly the entire country is in lockdown.
I am beginning to get optimistic. Cases appear to be peaking in NY. Almost the entire country is in shutdown. Hydroxychloriquine and antibiotics appear to help. There is increasing evidence that the asymptomatic infection rate could be as much as 50X higher than expected.
— Bill Ackman (@BillAckman) April 5, 2020
His optimism was matched in global financial markets, with rallies for the Nikkei 225, the German DAX and U.S. stock futures.
Other factors that made Ackman optimistic include the prospect of hydroxychloroquine and antibiotics as treatments, the scaling up of antibody tests, massive government stimulus and low interest rates.
“One could imagine a world in the next few months where everyone is tested and all but the immune compromised go back to a socially distanced but more normal life. We wear bracelets or carry a phone certificate which indicate our status, and track infections where they emerge,” Ackman tweeted.
Ackman last month warned “hell is coming” in a CNBC interview that coincided with a big drop in the stock market. He said he called CEOs of companies he was invested in, to stop buyback programs, husband resources and draw down credit lines “because hell is coming” as he called on President Donald Trump to institute a 30-day shutdown.
He also said he got bullish during the same interview, buying Hilton HLT, Restaurant Brands and Starbucks among other stocks.
Source: www.marketwatch.com