Market Folly - Latest Comments in Eric Mindich's Eton Park Capital Buys More Gold: 13F Filing Q1 2009

Re: Eric Mindich's Eton Park Capital Buys More Gold: 13F Filing Q1 2009

marketfolly — Wed, 27 May 2009 13:02:35 -0000

Ah ok now I see what you were getting at. That would technically be 'shorting' the puts then if he was selling them. And, the SEC filings only require them to disclose long or bought positions... we can't see what they're shorting. They very well could have other legs of their options trades, but we won't be able to see the short side of the trade.

Re: Eric Mindich's Eton Park Capital Buys More Gold: 13F Filing Q1 2009

Jason castew — Wed, 27 May 2009 12:23:54 -0000

Hi MF

I guess my question was..how do you know he was not selling long dated or LEAP naked puts..so that he can buy at a lower price..so in reality he is not bearish on the stock but rather bullish..but is using the volatility and temporary inefficiency to his advantage..

Re: Eric Mindich's Eton Park Capital Buys More Gold: 13F Filing Q1 2009

PeterD — Wed, 27 May 2009 01:06:34 -0000

Jay,

What is it they say in poker? If you haven't figured out who's the sucker at the table, chances are you're the sucker. That's how I feel about the market. And, you know, if this is a "dead cat bounce," then it's one helluva of a bounce! Thank you for the advice.

~Peter

P.S. Jay, have you been tracking the selling by insiders lately? I read somewhere (sorry, can't recall) that the ratio is 14:1 sellers to buyers.

Edit: I haven't forgotten. If it were not for your site, I would probably not have "peeked" into Soros' portfolio! You have a great site, Jay.

Re: Eric Mindich's Eton Park Capital Buys More Gold: 13F Filing Q1 2009

PeterD — Tue, 26 May 2009 23:17:58 -0000

Hi, Jay.

Remember when I wrote a couple of weeks ago about the potash mining company Potash1 (KCL---Toronto)? Well, as of today, the shares are up 85%. I am not writing this to gloat. Far from it. While I thought it was a smart long-term buy, I never for a second thought the shares would rocket up so fast. Of course I'm happy, but this freakin' market---up, up, and up---is starting to scare me a bit. Now, I notice the puts on potash.

Cheers,

~Peter

Re: Eric Mindich's Eton Park Capital Buys More Gold: 13F Filing Q1 2009

marketfolly — Tue, 26 May 2009 20:54:08 -0000

hey Jason, thanks for the question. Basically, if you pull up the filing for this quarter and then the one from the quarter prior, you can compare then. The previous 13F shows a number of shares next to each put position. Then, in this quarter's filing, the number of shares for puts next to each position had increased. As such, he was buying them. It's really just a case of simple addition or subtraction between the filings.

We will know when he sells them as well, as the number of shares will decrease if he does so. Since the # of shares from the puts increased on a quarter to quarter basis, he was buying.

Re: Eric Mindich's Eton Park Capital Buys More Gold: 13F Filing Q1 2009

Jason castew — Tue, 26 May 2009 19:52:16 -0000

how do you know he bought the puts..rather than sold?

Re: Eric Mindich's Eton Park Capital Buys More Gold: 13F Filing Q1 2009

TraderMark — Tue, 26 May 2009 18:51:33 -0000

Since this was of March 31st, it looks disastrous thus far - I assume he has been squeezed out of much of this already

"Mindich also was loading up on Puts across various emerging markets names as he thinks they may be overextended near-term. He boosted put positions in the emerging markets exchange traded fund EEM, as well as in the Brazilian exchange traded fund EWZ, and in Petroleo Brasileiro (PBR). Although not specifically emerging market related, Mindich also brought on a large Put position in Potash (POT).