You couldn’t short hlf on valuation. You could only short it on regulatory change which hadn’t happend for 30 years. Hence the activism. You think a regulator is going to listen to a pompous ass on TV showing them how they failed to see a fraud? Or will they respond to an analyst whose presenting the data privately so they can take the credit.
Herbalife is still alive. And all the other trash. Activist funds don't show interest in righting wrongs but to make a quick buck. Neither are regulators. They rather care to prohibit American citizens from trading leveraged fx or foreign index options than actually cleaning up their own backyard...
Say what you want about this guy, but his exchange with Carl Icahn live on CNBC was one of the best moments in TV history.