MBIA stock looks cheap after fall-Barron's

NEW YORK, Jan 20 (Reuters) - The stock of bond insurer MBIA Inc. (MBI.N), which took a beating last week, now looks cheap, Barron's said on Sunday.

The stock, which closed down 7.3 percent at $8.55 on Friday, is trading much lower than a conservative liquidation value that some observers say is above $30 a share, Barron's said in its Jan. 21 edition.

MBIA was not as troubled as Ambac Financial Group (ABK.N) because it had lower exposure to the really troubled subprime paper, the magazine said.

Moreover, investors such as Third Avenue Fund, Davis Selected Advisers and private-equity firm Warburg Pincus have bought into the stock in recent months, the magazine said.

Warburg Pincus remained committed to a December deal even though based on current stock price the private equity firm would have lost about $370 million of a $500 million investment when the deal closes, Barron's said.

Warburg Pincus could not be reached immediately for comment. (Reporting by Paritosh Bansal, editing by Maureen Bavdek)