"Tracking Stephen Mandel’s Lone Pine Capital Portfolio – Q4 2015 Update"
"Stephen Mandel’s 13F portfolio decreased from $24.55B to $23.40B. The number of positions remained steady at 47.Lone Pine Capital increased Dollar Tree while dropping Allergan plc.The top-three individual stocks are Microsoft, Amazon, & Priceline and they add up to ~17 % of the portfolio.This article is part of a series that provides an ongoing analysis of the changes made to Stephen Mandel’s US stock portfolio on a quarterly basis. It is based on Mandel’s regulatory  filed on 02/16/2016. Please visit our  article for an idea on his investment philosophy and our  for the fund’s moves during Q3 2015.This quarter, Mandel’s US long portfolio decreased 4.70% from $24.55B to $23.40B. The number of holdings remained steady at 47. The top three individual stock positions are at 17.39% while the top five are at 26.12% of the US long assets: Microsoft Corporation, Amazon.com, Priceline Inc., Facebook Inc., and Dollar Tree.Mandel worked at Tiger Management under Julian Robertson for eight years starting in the late 1980s, making him a bona fide tiger cub. To know more about Julian Robertson and his legendary Tiger Management, check out .Stake Disposals:Allergan plc (AGN) previously Actavis plc: AGN was a 2.89% of the US long portfolio position as of last quarter. The position was established in Q1 2015 at prices between $255 and $317 and increased by ~25% the following quarter at prices between $283 and $313. Last quarter also saw a ~14% further increase at prices between $252 and $340. The entire stake was sold this quarter at prices between $253 and $323. The stock currently trades at $285.DaVita Healthcare (DVA): The original DVA stake was purchased in Q4 2014 and Q1 2015 at prices between $73 and $82. Last quarter saw a ~45% increase at prices between $71 and $81. The elimination this quarter happened at prices between $68 and $78. The stock currently trades at $64.85.SBA Communications (SBAC): SBAC was a 1.20% position. The stake was from Q4 2013 and Q1 2014 at prices between $77 and $97. Q2 2015 saw a ~29% reduction at prices between $112 and $124 and that was followed with a ~39% reduction last quarter at prices between $104 and $128. The remaining position was sold out this quarter at prices between $100 and $121. The stock currently trades at $93.02.Charles Schwab (SCHW), Endo International plc (ENDP), Expedia Inc. (EXPE), Kansas City Southern (KSU), Mobileye NV (MBLY), Realogy Holdings (RLGY), and W R Grace (GRA): These very small (less than ~1.5% of the portfolio each) positions were sold out this quarter.New Stakes:Alphabet Inc. (GOOG) (GOOGL) previously Google: The medium sized 2.68% of the portfolio stake in GOOG was established this quarter at prices between $608 and $777. The stock currently trades at $707.Anheuser Busch Inbev (BUD), Autodesk Inc. (ADSK), Express Scripts (ESRX), Lululemon Athletica (LULU), Northrop Grumman (NOC), and Pioneer Natural Resources (PXD): These are very small (less than ~1.5% of the portfolio each) stakes established this quarter. Autodesk had seen a recent roundtrip - a ~1% stake was established in Q3 2014 and eliminated in Q2 2015.Note: Lone Pine Capital controls 2.5% of ADSK and 5% of LULU.Stake Decreases:Adobe Systems (ADBE): ADBE is a 1.61% of the US long portfolio position. It was first purchased in Q1 2014 and almost doubled the following quarter at prices between $60 and $73. Q2 2015 saw a ~23% reduction at prices between $73 and $84 and that was followed with a one-third reduction last quarter at prices between $74 and $87. This quarter saw another ~35% reduction at prices between $80.65 and $95.56. The stock currently trades at $83.80.Charter Communications (CHTR) & Calls: The 3.70% position was first purchased in Q3 2014 at prices between $152 and $164 and the following quarters also saw minor buying. Q2 2015 saw a whopping ~150% increase at prices between $168 and $193. This quarter saw an about turn: ~50% reduction at prices between $175 and $193. The stock is currently at $177.Note: Lone Pine Capital controls 4.2% of CHTR.Electronic Arts (EA): EA is a 1.89% of the portfolio position established in Q2 2015 and increased by just over 10-times last quarter at prices between $63 and $75. This quarter saw a ~27% reduction at prices between $65 and $77. The stock currently trades at $63.27.Equinix Inc. (EQIX): EQIX is a medium-sized 2.73% portfolio stake. It is a long-term position first purchased in 2010. Around 4M shares were acquired at the time at a cost-basis in the low-80s. The position size has wavered since although by Q4 2014, the stake was back at ~4M shares. Q1 2015 saw a ~30% reduction at prices between $217 and $239. This quarter saw another ~20% reduction at prices between $265 and $305. The stock is now at $300. Lone Pine is harvesting gains from the position.Note: Lone Pine Capital controls 3.4% of Equinix.Facebook Inc. (FB): The current top-five 4.38% FB stake was purchased in Q3 2014 at prices between $66.34 and $78.79. Q2 2015 saw a ~20% increase at prices between $77.46 and $88.86 and that was followed with a ~10% increase last quarter at prices between $82 and $98. The stock currently trades at $107. This quarter saw a ~9% trimming.Note: FB has seen a previous presence in the portfolio. Around 11M shares were purchased in Q4 2012 at prices between $19 and $29. The stake was disposed of in 2013 and early 2014 at much higher prices, realizing huge gains.JD.com Inc. (JD): JD is a 3.72% of the portfolio position purchased in Q4 2014 and Q1 2015 at prices between $23 and $30. This quarter saw a ~38% reduction at prices between $25.52 and $32.65. The stock is now at $26.32.MasterCard Inc. (MA): The 2.56% MA stake was established in Q3 2013 at prices between $59 and $69 and increased by ~30% the following quarter at prices between $67 and $83. Q1 2014 saw some selling but the following three quarters saw a huge ~200% increase at prices between $69 and $89. 2015 saw a combined ~70% reduction at prices between $82 and $102. The stock is currently at $87.80.Priceline Inc. (PCLN): PCLN is a large (top three) 4.55% long-term stake first purchased in 2011 at a cost-basis of ~$500. The original position was sold down by ~44% in Q3 2013 at prices between $900 and $1030 and another two-thirds in Q1 2014 at prices between $1132 and $1358. There was a combined ~380% increase over the next three quarters at prices between $1064 and $1280. 2015 saw a combined ~40% reduction at prices between $1008 and $1454. The stock is now at $1288. Lone Pine is harvesting gains from this position.Valeant Pharmaceuticals (VRX): VRX was the second-largest 13F stake at 5.42% of the US long portfolio as of last quarter. It was first purchased in 2013. Last quarter saw a ~40% increase at prices between $158 and $263. This quarter saw an about turn: ~22% reduction at prices between $70 and $182. The stock is now at $75.91 and the stake is at 2.53% of the portfolio.Barclays Bank plc (BCS) Puts, CSX Corporation (CSX) & Calls, Fidelity National Financial (FNF) & Calls, Mohawk Industries (MHK), Proshares Ultra VIX Short Term Puts, TransDigm Group (TDG), and Vulcan Materials (VMC): These small positions (less than ~2% of the portfolio each) saw reductions this quarter.Note: Lone Pine Capital controls ~4.1% of TransDigm Group.Stake Increases:Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN): AMZN is a top-three 6.38% of the portfolio position purchased last quarter at prices between $430 and $548 and increased by ~14% this quarter at prices between $512 and $694. The stock is now at $560.Cheniere Energy (LNG): LNG is a 2% of the portfolio position first purchased in Q3 2014 at prices between $70 and $84. The following quarter saw a ~28% increase at prices between $64.88 and $77.33. There was another ~54% increase last quarter at prices between $47.47 and $70.65. The stock is now at $30.38. For investors attempting to follow Lone Pine Capital, LNG is a good option to consider for further research. This quarter saw a marginal increase.Note: Lone Pine Capital controls 5.3% of the business. LNG is very popular among super investors: Seth Klarman (Baupost Group), Carl Icahn, and John Griffin (Blue Ridge Capital) have large stakes.Dollar Tree (DLTR): DLTR is a fairly large 4.35% of the portfolio position. It was established last quarter at prices between $65 and $82 and increased by ~156% this quarter at prices between $61 and $80. The stock currently trades at $81.67.Note: Lone Pine Capital controls 5.6% of the DLTR.Microsoft Corporation (MSFT): MSFT is the largest 13F position at 6.46% of the portfolio. Around 27M shares were purchased in Q4 2013 at prices between $34 and $38. Q4 2014 saw a huge ~75% reduction at prices between $43 and $50. The position was built back up to ~29.4M shares over the first two quarters of 2015 at prices between $40.40 and $47.59. Last quarter saw a ~11% trimming while this quarter saw a ~4% increase. The stock currently trades at $52.65.Constellation Brands (STZ): STZ is a medium-sized 3.26% stake established last quarter at prices between $115 and $131 and increased by ~14% this quarter at prices between $125 and $145. The stock is now at $141.Nike Inc. (NKE): The 3.07% NKE stake was purchased in Q1 2015 at prices between $46 and $55 and decreased by ~20% last quarter at prices between $52 and $63. The stake was doubled this quarter at prices between $61 and $68. It is now at $60.15.Note: The prices quoted above are adjusted for the 2-for-1 stock split in November 2015.Ulta Salon (ULTA): ULTA is a 2.83% stake first purchased in 2012 at much lower prices. Last quarter saw a ~40% increase at prices between $153 and $173. Mandel is sitting on huge gains and is very bullish. The stock is now at $156. This quarter saw a ~9% further increase.Note: Lone Pine Capital controls 5.6% of Ulta Salon.Visa Inc. (V): V is a fairly large 4.23% stake purchased in Q4 2014 and Q1 2015 at prices between $51 and $68 and increased by ~31% this quarter at prices between $70 and $80. The stock currently trades at $73.02.Williams Companies (WMB) & Calls: The 3.18% WMB position was established in Q1 2015 at prices between $40.94 and $60.86. The stake saw a ~64% increase this quarter at prices between $21.54 and $43.83. The stock currently trades well below those ranges at $16.14.Note: Lone Pine controls 3.9% of WMB.Activision Blizzard (ATVI), American Express (AXP) & Calls, Diageo plc (DEO), Hanesbrands Inc. (HBI), HDFC Bank (HDB), and Molson Coors Brewers (TAP): These are very small (less than ~2% of the portfolio each) stakes increased this quarter.Kept Steady:FleetCor Technologies (FLT): The 3.93% FLT stake is from 2013 - Mandel is sitting on large gains on this position. Last quarter saw a ~17% further increase at prices between $138 and $164. It currently trades at $130.Note: Lone Pine Capital controls 7% of FleetCor Technologies.Illumina Inc. (ILMN): ILMN is a medium-sized 2.96% of the US long portfolio stake. It was purchased in Q1 2015 at prices between $181 and $203 and almost doubled the following quarter at prices between $182 and $221. Last quarter saw a ~36% reduction at prices between $168 and $240. The stock currently trades at $153.Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) & Calls: The 2.47% WBA position was first purchased in Q4 2014. Q2 2015 saw a stake doubling at prices between $83 and $89 and that was followed with a roughly one-third increase last quarter at prices between $81 and $97. The stock is now at $78.80. For investors attempting to follow Mandel, WBA is a good option to consider for further research.Arista Networks (ANET), Horizon Pharma plc (HZNP), and Sears Holdings (SHLD) Puts: These are very small (less than ~1.5% of the portfolio each) positions that were kept steady this quarter.Note: Lone Pine Capital controls 9.8% of HZNP.The spreadsheet below highlights changes to Mandel’s US stock holdings in Q4 2015:13G/D/A, Form 3/4 filings after 8/15/2015: 13G 11/23/2015 DLTR - 13.19M shares - 5.6% of business. 13G 9/28/2015 LNG - 12.24M shares - 5.2% of business.13G/13D/A Filings: 7/27/2015 - 13G - HZNP - Horizon Pharma - date of event July 17 - 8.35M shares - 5.4% of business, 7/16/2015 - 13G - CHTR - date of event July 6 - 6.34M shares - 5.7% of business, 2/17/2015 - 13G/A - KORS - 11.08M shares - 5.5% of business, 2/17/2015 - 13G/A - SWI - SolarWinds - 2.39M shares - 3.1% of business, 2/17/2015 - 13G/A - EQIX - 3.89M shares - 7.1% of business, 2/17/2015 - 13G/A - ADSK - 14.46M shares - 6.4% of business, 2/17/2015 - 13G/A - FLT - FleetCor - 6.44M shares - 7%, 2/17/2015 - 13G/A - ULTA - Ulta Salon - 3.34M shares - 5.2% of business, 2/17/2015 - 13G/A - RLGY - Realogy - 10.41M shares - 7.1% of business, 2/17/2015 - 13G/A - SBAC - SBA Commn. - 7.3M shares - 5.6% of business, 2/17/2015 - 13G/A - DG - 12.92M shares - 4.3% of business, 2/17/2015 - 13G/A - TIF - 6.05M shares - 4.7% of business, 2/17/2015 - 13G/A - CTSH - 12.23M shares - 2% of business, 2/17/2015 - 13G/A - TDG - TransDigm - 1.79M shares - 3.4% of business, 2/17/2015 - 13G/A - SAVE - Spirit Airlines - 0%,"