Did we just witness “an epic signal of a blow-off top” … ?
Yes, says Gary Evans of the Global Macro Monitor blog, who pointed to the recent action on Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy’s Twitter feed as the reason.
On Monday, Portnoy slammed Berkshire Hathaway’s BRK.A, +1.41% BRK.B, +1.79% Warren Buffett for unloading airline stocks as the coronavirus epidemic took its initial toll. He also went off on how he made almost $300,000 on the day but missed out on an even bigger number by getting out too soon.
“I’m just printing money,” Portnoy said. “Why take profits when every airline goes up 20% every day. Losers take profits. Winners push the chips to the middle. … I should be up a billion dollars.”
Watch the clip:
Evans compared Portnoy’s rant Monday to one of the most-quoted market-top signals in history.
Back in the fall of 1929, Yale economist Irving Fisher famously said “Stock prices have reached what looks like a permanently high plateau.” We all know what happened in October of that year.
“Frame it,” Evans said of Portnoy’s take. “Then run like hell.”
After Portnoy’s tweet spread across Finance Twitter TWTR, +1.12%, he doubled down on his Buffett bashing on Tuesday, calling him a “washed up” investor who’s no longer relevant.
“I’m not saying I had a better career. … He’s one of the best ever to do it,” he said. “I’m the new breed. I’m the new generation. There’s nobody who can argue that Warren Buffett is better at the stock market than I am right now. I’m better than he is. That’s a fact.”
Look out below?
Meanwhile, the stock market is taking a breather. On Tuesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average’s DJIA, +1.90% saw its six-day winning streak end at six. It’s down again early Wednesday. The S&P 500 SPX, +1.30% was also lower Wednesday while the tech-heavy Nasdaq COMP, +1.01% parted ways to post an early gain.
Need to Know (May 28):Hedge-fund manager Bill Ackman says he dumped Berkshire Hathaway but held on to these winners
