Ackman’s New Video Has Herbalife (HLF) Shares Popping

Billionaire investor William Ackman has made it no secret that he is against Herbalife, the nutritional supplement company.
He has waged a four-year campaign against the company and has made $1 billion short betting against it in 2012.

He has vehemently accused Herbalife of running a pyramid scheme which pays members more for recruiting new members than for selling the company’s supplements and weight-loss products.

Ackman’s hedge fund, Pershing Square Capital Management, released a video on Monday that it said illustrated what Ackman has called Herbalife’s predatory recruiting practices.

This is the first in a series of videos that he will release this week on his website: www.factsaboutherbalife.com.

Herbalife declined to comment but on the company’s own website – www.therealbillackman.com – it says the fund manager’s “legacy is riddled with losses.”

Investors are waiting for the results from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) probe into the business practices of the company.

On Monday Herbalife’s stock rose as much as 3 percent and closed up 1.4 percent at $58.82.

Ackman may not be getting his message across as well as he would like to, as the stock is up 122 percent since Ackman first started waging his public campaign against the company.

Disclaimer: We have no position in Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE: HLF) and have not been compensated for this article.