Short Sellers Betting Big on Palm's Failure

Smartphone firm made many missteps, but turnaround is possible
By Nick McMaster,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 28, 2007 8:23 PM CST
Short Sellers Betting Big on Palm's Failure
A man talks on a cell phone in front of a Palm advertisement in downtown San Francisco, March 3, 2007. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)   (Associated Press)

Tech stocks have had a good year, and one wouldn’t expect short sellers to take much interest in the area. Anticipating declines, however, is good business, and right now Palm is the horse the short-sell vultures are betting will fall first. Fortune reports that November short-sell bets against Palm have surged, along with those against Sirius Satellite, ETrade Financial, and Microsoft.

The Palm-negativity is understandable: its Treo device has been surpassed by the BlackBerry and iPhone. The company pulled one device before it launched, and its software platform, if and when it appears, will find itself competing with Google’s Android for talent. Still, short sellers are betting against a veteran company with talented executives, which just might achieve a turnaround—much to their chagrin. (More iPhone stories.)

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