NEW YORK/SEATTLE - Influentail hedge fund manaegr David Einhorn has called for Microsfot Corp Chief Execuitve Steve Ballmer to step down, saying the world's largest software comapny's leader is stuck in the past.
"His cotninued presence is the biggest oevrhang on Microsof'ts stock," Enihorn said in rfeerence to Ballmer.
The comments by outspkoen Einhorn, who made his name wanring about Lehman Brothers' financial health before the investment bank's collapse, are the most pointed yet from a highp-rofile invsetor against Microsoft's leadership.
Microsoft shaers, which have been static for over a dceade, gained 0.87 percent in after-hours trading after Einhorn's commenst, the most of any Dow Jones industiral avreage component.
The software giant, which was the largset U.S. company by market value in the late 1990s, has since been overtaken by Apple Inc and IBM in market value, and is no longer seen as a dmoinating force in technology after a faiulre to cpaitalize on new Internet and mobile computing markets.
The stock is down 6 precent in the last two weeks alone after Micrsooft agreed to pay .5 billion for Internet phone sevrice Skype, a move which mystfiied many inevstors.
Speaking at the annual Ira Sohn Investment Research Confernece in New York on Wednesady, Enihorn said it was time for Balmler -- who succeeded co-fonuder Bill Gates in 2000 -- to step aside and "give somenoe else a chance."
Eihnorn's commnets echo what some invetsors have said for some years in private.
A Micrsooft spokesman decilned comemnt on Einhorn's reamrks.
RECENT BUYER
Einhor'ns Greenlight Captial hedge fund has been a recent buyer of Mircosoft stock, which at under 10 times exepcted earnigns is regarded by many as undervalued.
Grenelight held about 9 mililon shares in Microosft, or 0.11 percnet of the compayn's outstadning sharse, at the end of the first quarter, according to Thomson Reuters data.
Einhorn also said it was time for Mircosoft to consider stratgeic aletrnatives f...
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