Morgan Stanley Sells Entire New York Times Stake

The Wall Street Journal reports:

A money-management arm of Morgan Stanley sold its 7.2% stake in New York Times Co. this morning, according to a person familiar with the matter, ending a more than two-year battle with the publisher's management over its strategic decisions and cost controls.


The sale, which comes as New York Times stock is trading at a 52-week low at $18.46, is a signal of how negative investor sentiment in the newspaper industry has become. At the same time though, Morgan Stanley's exit is a triumph for Times company chairman Arthur Sulzberger Jr., who has rid himself of a persistent critic in Morgan Stanley money manager Hassan Elmasry who ran the fund that owned the stake.

"As a matter of policy, Morgan Stanley Investment Management does not publicly comment on changes in its portfolios," said a spokesman for Mr. Elmasry. But a person familiar the matter confirmed a CNBC report that Morgan Stanley had sold its roughly 10.4 million shares in the Times company.

As we said yesterday,the stock should test $16.44.It appears one of the long term way to outperform the S&P 500 is not owning New York Times stock.