'Icahn Herd' Continues To Get Stampeded

Activist investor Carl Icahn on Monday disclosed a 7.7 percent stake in Manitowoc Company Inc (NYSE: MTW).

A little over a year ago, an article on Benzinga was skeptical on Icahn Enterprises LP (NYSE: IEP).

At that time, the issue had swooned from its all-time high made on December 9, 2013 ($149.77) to the $113.00 level.

The article highlighted how the "Icahn herd" had hastily purchased the issue, in order to emulate his masterful investment performance. Although his private holdings do not exactly match of the holdings of Icahn Enterprises, there are similarities between them.

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Disappointing Performance In 2013

The broad market is ending the year at all-time highs, with the S&P 500 index poised to post a nearly 12 percent gain. Icahn Enterprises, however, is down more than 14 percent year-to-date.

What is the reason for the disconnect between Icahn Enterprises and the broad market?

One possible reason for the poor performance versus the broad market is the way it performed in 2013. Its blockbuster 59 percent gain in 2013 minus this year's 14 percent decline still nets out a 45 percent gain, which is comparable to the index's 48 percent gain over the same time period. (Icahn Enterprises did a pay a 6 percent distribution to shareholders this year, which is reflected negatively in the year-end performance.)

This comparison discounts the ridiculous run to nearly $150 last December, when return-happy investors failed to make the correct correlations between the "Icahn brand" and the true performance of Icahn Enterprises.

Good, Bad And Ugly Holdings

With respect to Icahn's overall stock-picking acumen, he has some big winners and losers. He accurately outlined and dictated the run-up in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) (a 30 percent gain), as Tim Cook heeded his call for increased dividends and a massive stock buyback program.

The remainder of his top five holdings, however, has been a mixed bag. His third-largest holding, eBay Inc, (NASDAQ: EBAY) has posted a slight gain. Federal-Mogul Company (NASDAQ: FDML), Icahn's fourth-largest holding, is down 18 percent.

Icahn is also riding a few big losers in the energy sector.

His second-largest holding, CVR Energy, Inc. (NYSE: CVR), has declined by 10 percent and fifth-largest holding, Chesapeake Energy (NYSE: CHK) is lower by 27 percent. The biggest loser is Transocean Ltd (NYSE: RIG), which is off by 60 percent this year.

Looking Forward

From a technical perspective, resistance in Icahn Enterprises has been creeping lower. After the blow-off rally to $150.00, it briefly touched $120.00 in January and has been grinding lower ever since.

The rebounds off the Ebola-induced and mid-December lows ($90.00) have been muted and has found a brick wall at the $108.00 level. At this time, it is much closer to that crucial support level as it hovers at the $93.60 level.