Greenlight Re's Einhorn says he added to Apple position

By Sam Forgione

NEW YORK (Reuters) - David Einhorn's Greenlight Capital has added to its investment position in Apple Inc , Einhorn, the hedge fund's president, said on Tuesday.

"We've added to our Apple position. Now we just wait for the release of Apple's next blockbuster product," Einhorn said on a conference call for his Cayman Island-based reinsurer Greenlight Capital Re Ltd .

He did not specify when the hedge fund added to its Apple position or the size of its current holdings. At the end of the fourth quarter, the $8.8 billion Greenlight Capital held roughly 1.3 million Apple shares, according to a regulatory filing. At the market close on Monday, the shares were worth about $600 million.

Einhorn said Apple's roughly 17 percent stock price decline in the first quarter led to the biggest loss in the Greenlight investment portfolio in the quarter. But he said Apple took a "major step forward" by issuing debt, and that its plan to return $100 billion to shareholders has made it "more shareholder-friendly."

Einhorn, who has a bullish stance on gold, also said recent events, including the regime change at the Bank of Japan, support his "long-term thesis" of a weaker yen and stronger gold.

He added, however, that he was "somewhat surprised" by the decline in gold prices in April. (Reporting by Sam Forgione; Editing by James Dalgleish and John Wallace)