Call him Shia LaPoof.
After he boasted of being a genius stock trader who was able to turn $20,000 into $450,000, actor Shia LaBeouf’s turn as a stock picker took a big hit yesterday after an oil and natural gas exploration company he talked up saw its stock sink 12.5 percent.
LaBeouf, who’s starring alongside Michael Douglas in the movie “Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps,” bragged in a recent GQ magazine article that the prep work he did for his role enabled him to pick winning stocks, including the little-known InterOil, whose shares earlier this week traded above much larger rival Exxon Mobil’s even though the company has yet to produce any usable oil or natural gas.
PREVIOUSLY: SHIA’S ‘SLICK’ TIP
“IOC’s momentum is major, and it will surprise to the upside,” LaBeouf advised the GQ article’s author.
Yesterday, LaBeouf’s stock tip turned into a major nightmare for anyone who heeded his advice. After a report surfaced that InterOil CEO Phil Mulacek was rapped by a federal judge for acting in “bad faith” in seeking bankruptcy protection for a company, InterOil shares fell as much as $13 before ending the day down $8.88 to $62.01.
The Post earlier this week reported that LaBeouf was promoting InterOil even though the Canada-based firm’s quest to profit on oil or natural gas in Papua New Guinea had thus far come up short.