(Bloomberg) -- David Einhorn's Greenlight Capital hedge funds rebounded 4.1% in July, helped by a rally in homebuilder Green Brick Partners Inc.
The gain pared Greenlight's year-to-date loss to 17.5%, according to an investor update on Friday viewed by Bloomberg. It was only the second positive month for Einhorn in 2020.
Green Brick, the firm's largest U.S. holding as of the end of the first quarter, rose 16% in July with low interest rates and the escalating Covid-19 crisis boosting housing stocks. Homebuilders “have additional intrinsic value to the consumer as safe havens from the pandemic and as workspaces,” BTIG analyst Carl Reichardt wrote in a note last week. Greenlight owns almost half of the company's stock, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Einhorn follows a value-oriented strategy of stock-picking that's mostly been out of favor in recent years. He revamped his approach early in 2019, vowing to make fewer, more-concentrated investments.
Read more: Value Investors Believe Their Long Winter May Soon End
The trader may have been hurt in July by some of his short wagers. As recently as May, he said he was still betting against Tesla Inc. and Netflix Inc. The carmaker's shares soared 33% in July, while the streaming service climbed 7.4%.
Einhorn has been unable to recoup losses that began in 2015, when the funds fell by 20%. The slump deepened in 2018, his worst year, when he lost 34%. Greenlight gained 14% last year, lagging behind the S&P 500.
The firm managed $2.6 billion as of Jan. 1, down from $12 billion at its peak.
A spokesman for the New York-based firm declined to comment.
©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
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