Bill Ackman got a Halloween treat Thursday.
A report that the hedge-fund billionaire will launch another attack on Herbalife with a major presentation at the inaugural Robin Hood investment conference in November sent the shares tumbling on Thursday.
Herbalife closed at $64.82, down 3.6 percent for the day, and 7.2 percent for the month. Shares traded as low as $64.21 Thursday after CNBC reported Ackman’s plan for Robin Hood.
To be sure, investors want to hear what Ackman still has up his sleeve regarding Herbalife. He has made no public presentation on the protein shake seller since his Dec. 20 presentation last year, when he unveiled a $1 billion short on the company and called it a pyramid scheme.
The shares have nearly doubled since then, leading Ackman to restructure his bet to protect against further paper losses. Meanwhile, rival activist Carl Icahn has profited by taking the long side of the bet.
Even with the Oct. 31 boost, Herbalife added little to what turned out to be a comeback month for Ackman’s $11 billion Pershing Square hedge fund. By late October, it was up roughly 8 percent, according to an investor.