We recently published an article titled Billionaire David Einhorn’s 10 Stock Picks with Huge Upside Potential. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Core Natural Resources, Inc. (NYSE:CNR) stands against David Einhorn’s other stock picks with huge upside potential.
David Einhorn is a widely renowned hedge fund manager who co-founded Greenlight Capital in 1996. The billionaire graduated from Cornell University and gained experience in the hedge fund industry under the tutelage of Gary Siegler and Peter Collery at the SC Fundamental Value Fund. Einhorn rose to prominence in 2002, when he successfully questioned the accounting practices of Allied Capital, a private equity firm, and disclosed having a short position at the Sohn Investment Conference. The stock plummeted, sparking a heated exchange of claims between Allied and Einhorn. A five-year-long inquiry by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) confirmed Einhorn’s claim, revealing that Allied did breach accounting rules related to securities laws.
Greenlight Capital focuses on value-oriented initiatives. The investment management firm’s primary concentration lies in long and short positions in listed equity securities. This strategy allows Einhorn to navigate both rising and falling markets, giving him flexibility during periods of uncertainty.
Greenlight Capital gained 8.2% in the first three months of 2025, boosted by a gold bet that it believes will pay out further as Trump administration policies continue to shake the economy. In a letter to clients, the firm stated that the precious metal was “by far the biggest winner” in their portfolio, increasing 19%. Gold is frequently used as an inflation hedge, and Greenlight believes the White House’s policies would only worsen inflation. “All current Administration policy roads lead to higher longer-term inflation.” the letter added. Greenlight reasoned that slower growth would push the US Federal Reserve to drop interest rates more than markets anticipate. As a countermeasure, the fund acquired a stake in SOFR futures (secured overnight financing rate), while also including tail protection in case the dollar falls significantly compared to the euro and yen.
Another aspect of the Greenlight letter was the assertion that the US equities market is in the early stages of a bear market. To that end, the firm was able to determine precisely when to opt out of its equity holdings. According to the firm’s letter:
“Bear markets do not go straight down. They are punctuated with ‘rip-your-face-off’ rallies based on big headlines, extreme investor sentiment, and experience that buying the dip usually pays off.”
Our Methodology
For this article, we examined Greenlight Capital’s Q4 2024 13F filings to list down billionaire David Einhorn’s stock picks with the highest upside potential. We ranked the companies in ascending order of their upside potential. These equities are also popular among elite hedge funds.
Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points (see more details here).
A continuous supply of coal streaming out of the entrance of the underground mine.
Core Natural Resources, Inc. (NYSE:CNR)
Greenlight Capital’s Q4 Stake: $148.78 million
Analyst Upside as of April 30: 44.17%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders:
Core Natural Resources, Inc. (NYSE:CNR) is a leading producer and exporter of high-quality, low-cost coals, including metallurgical and high calorific value thermal coals. The Pennsylvania Mining Complex, Leer, Leer South, and West Elk mines are among the company’s top-performing assets. With an emphasis on seaborne markets, Core plays a vital role in addressing the world’s expanding demand for steel, infrastructure, and energy. The company was formed in January 2025 following the merger of long-standing industry titans CONSOL Energy and Arch Resources
Despite the fact that adjusted EBITDA for legacy assets fell short of estimates in the fourth quarter, Benchmark analysts retained a Buy rating on Core Natural Resources, Inc. (NYSE:CNR) with a $112 price target. Meanwhile, Jefferies launched coverage of Core Natural Resources with a Hold rating and a $93 price target, highlighting the company’s distinct asset portfolio and diverse coal exposure. The analysts emphasized the potential for fewer cyclical cash flows compared to other coal miners.
Black Bear Value Fund stated the following regarding Core Natural Resources, Inc. (NYSE:CNR) in its Q1 2025 investor letter:
“Core Natural Resources, Inc. (NYSE:CNR) is the result of the merger between Consol and Arch Resources. As a combined entity they are one of the leading producers of metallurgical coal (steel) and thermal coal (energy). The Company is heavily dependent on exports so retaliatory tariffs would be damaging. At the same time, there has been a reduction in global capacity so many countries may not have much choice, especially if they need higher quality coal.
Met coal demand is projected to climb for the next 25 years, driven by the economic development and urbanization in India and the rest of Southeast Asia. ~60% of the world’s population lives in Asia, where met coal demand is centered and where local sources are limited. Over the coming years demand will likely outstrip supply, leading to higher prices. There has been a severe lack of investment in met coal due to ESG concerns with investment peaking in 2014.
I will disclose my updated valuation thoughts at a later date as I find the investment extremely compelling and am hoping the Company can buy back ever cheaper stock. As a reminder this is a Company with a fortress balance sheet and is one of the cheapest producers in the market. While short-term pain hurts all Companies, they can be major long-term beneficiaries.”
Overall CNR ranks 4th on our list of David Einhorn’s stock picks with huge upside potential. While we acknowledge the potential for CNR as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. There is an AI stock that went up since the beginning of 2025, while popular AI stocks lost around 25%. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than CNR but trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.
READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stocks to Buy Now and 30 Best Stocks to Buy Now According to Billionaires.
Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
