C - paying off TARP & other thoughts?

[dmk112]

just read an article that Soros & Paulson bought something like 300++ MM shares in 4Q09... if that means anything. FWIW....

[yoyomama]

i'm not sure about that yo. and i have no idea of what they would put them on the market for but i would bet that it wouldn't be at a premium but somewhere below fair market value just to get out from under them and if that happened i bet the biggest buyer would be citi themselves which would put them in a good spot for accumulating their own shares at a very good price as opposed to any other type of stock purchasing on their part where they would have to pay fair market value. and you can bet that they won't be letting on any info as to when the govt is going to start unloading the shares. i think that is the one big factor in holding the price down and keeping people out right now. especially institutional monies.

Later that day...thanks for the post!

I just thought that was part of the deal when that stuff went down, that they would be selling at some point.

[riverbabe]

government warrants sales BoA

i'm not sure about that yo. and i have no idea of what they would put them on the market for but i would bet that it wouldn't be at a premium but somewhere below fair market value just to get out from under them and if that happened i bet the biggest buyer would be citi themselves which would put them in a good spot for accumulating their own shares at a very good price as opposed to any other type of stock purchasing on their part where they would have to pay fair market value. and you can bet that they won't be letting on any info as to when the govt is going to start unloading the shares. i think that is the one big factor in holding the price down and keeping people out right now. especially institutional monies.

See? at least in this case we taxpayers are getting some $$$.

http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/03/04/u-s-reaps-1-5-billion-from-sale-of-bofa-warrants/

[yoyomama]

Cramer on C

Cramer on C, from Friday's show I think.

This I think is from Friday's show:

you want to buy all the Citigroup that you can get when the government starts selling its huge stake… this may be the last best bargain left in the banking business on Wall Street because of what Vik Pandit has done… take it.

So love him or hate him, I get all that but what's he saying...wait until the Gov sells their shares to get in?

[steelman]

C is currently up to $4 plus, 4% and it's almost 11am est. Does anyone know why it's popping?

Thanks,
Steel

[yoyomama]

Hey Ski...you still don't think the gov is going to sell their C Shares? It's coming up sooner than later I'm thinkin.

[skiracer]

Hey Ski...you still don't think the gov is going to sell their C Shares? It's coming up sooner than later I'm thinkin.

yo,
i read something yesterday that they had sold something. i think maybe it was warrants on shares the govt was holding. i'll go back and see if i can find the article. volume was up pretty good yesterday and the price came down to under $4 to close at $3.97 after a couple of days of being up.

[yoyomama]

Thanks...you know way more about this stuff than me but I've been following C pretty closely lately. The buzz is pretty much that as of Tuesday they can start unloading their shares & Pandit has insinuated that he thinks they might start getting out in the near future. Naturally I bought too high recently even though I yelled at myself to wait until the gov sold before I got back in...got caught up in the hype. Like everybody else just wondering what the effect of the Gov selling their shares will do to the short term price & whether or not I want to hold until it gets back up.

[skiracer]

Thanks...you know way more about this stuff than me but I've been following C pretty closely lately. The buzz is pretty much that as of Tuesday they can start unloading their shares & Pandit has insinuated that he thinks they might start getting out in the near future. Naturally I bought too high recently even though I yelled at myself to wait until the gov sold before I got back in...got caught up in the hype. Like everybody else just wondering what the effect of the Gov selling their shares will do to the short term price & whether or not I want to hold until it gets back up.

Yo,
what did you get in at on this last entry? i would want to know that before i offered what my point of view would be regarding what i think you should do. i have been watching it myself recently because i also want to participate in any move up. one thing i think i know, and believe me i'm not an authority, is that the govt never holds out for a higher price in anything that they do when liquidating anything they own. it's usually put it out there and sell it at what you can get. and i think that is what they will do with their shares of C and everyone else's that they are holding. and C, the company, is going to be buying them and their market maker friends are going to be forcing the price down as far as they can so their buddies and insider interests can obtain them as cheaply as they can. once they are sold off then the price will go back to retail levels. so i think C's share price will drop to somewhere around $3.50 - $3.75 range over the next week or so and maybe lower. but right now this is all conjecture. if you go back and look at a 60 min chart you will see that it was trading in a rangebound level around $3.35 to $3.50 and that was between 2/19 to 3/08. on 3/09 it started a move up that culminated in a top at $4.22 at the close on thursday 3/11 but then it tanked friday 3/12 back to under $4 at $3.97. probably in anticipation of the govt selling off this week.
one thing for sure is that anytime a large influx of shares comes on the market for whatever reasons it usually drives the price down regardless of who is selling them so i think for that reason alone the price will drop.

[yoyomama]

Hey Ski...I'm pleading the 5th on how much I paid although I'm usually wide open on that stuff. I will say I chased it & it's over 4. I know not to do that also! Waahh. See what Monday morning brings. I'll probably get out & take the hit and wait for the sale & get back in. I still think there's a large upside to be had but what do I know.

Thanks for the posts.

[skiracer]

Hey Ski...I'm pleading the 5th on how much I paid although I'm usually wide open on that stuff. I will say I chased it & it's over 4. I know not to do that also! Waahh. See what Monday morning brings. I'll probably get out & take the hit and wait for the sale & get back in. I still think there's a large upside to be had but what do I know.

Thanks for the posts.

i think that in the financial sector involving all types of international money dealings C is going to be a major player. Pandit is saying that the company will return to profitability within 2 years. so based on the fact that they are and will continue to be a major player in international finance i think this period of time for them is only a temporary setback and they will be back. in jan 2007 the stock was at $51.40. i think that it is only time before C will be back to those numbers if the world survives and the world markets and economy survives. when to get back in the stock is anyone's guess. i cannot afford to and dont like to leave my working capital sitting and not earning so i wont be getting in on it until the stock is ready to start it's move but i bet all the super rich are looking at these price levels as real bargains and probably have already loaded up. but when you have money that you dont have to use you can let it lay in something cheap for as long as it takes. thats the difference between the super rich and you and i.

[dmk112]

just read an article that Soros & Paulson bought something like 300++ MM shares in 4Q09... if that means anything. FWIW....

Guess they're in the money...

Sold my shares @ $4.00 - will get more on a p/b

[riverbabe]

C and the government stake

Most of you have probably heard this news. But for those who haven't:

http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/03/29/morgan-stanley-said-to-win-role-in-citi-stake-sale/

[steelman]

C selling Primerica

Citigroup is selling Primerica to raise funds and Primerica will have it's own IPO this week.

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-03-30/primerica-discounted-in-ipo-as-citigroup-unravels-weill-deals.html

What do you think this will do to Citi's stock price?

Thanks,
Steel

[steelman]

Citi's Primerica raises $321 million

More than expected

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/citis-primerica-ipo-raises-at-least-321-mln-2010-03-31?siteid=bnbh