"Tracking George Soros’s Portfolio – Q2 2016 Update"
"Soros' 13F portfolio increased from $4.53B to $4.68B this quarter. The number of positions decreased from 226 to 173.A large new position in Liberty Broadband was established during the quarter while reducing Barrick Gold and SPDR Gold ETF.Puts on S&P 500 SPDR and iShares Russell 2000 ETFs were both increased during the quarter.This article is part of a series that provides an ongoing analysis of the changes made to George Soros’s US stock portfolio on a quarterly basis. It is based on George Soros’s regulatory  filed on 08/18/2016. Please visit our  for an idea on his investment philosophy and our  for the fund’s moves during Q1 2016.Soros Fund Management invests globally and the long positions in the US market reported in the 13F filings represent ~15% of the overall portfolio. The 13F portfolio increased ~3% this quarter from $4.53B to $4.68B. The number of positions decreased 226 to 173. Very small stock positions and large debt holdings together account for over 41% of the 13F holdings. The US long investments are diversified with a large number of very small equity positions, a small number of large equity positions, and a few large debt holdings. As the small positions (<0.5%) do not indicate a clear bias, the focus of this article is on the larger equity positions. The top-three individual stocks held are Liberty Broadband, Adecoagro, and Polycom.To learn about Soros’ distinct trading style and philosophy, check out his “” and other works.New stakes:Liberty Broadband (LBRDK): LBRDK is a huge 11.41% of the portfolio stake established this quarter at prices between $55.32 and $60.33. The stock is now well above that range at $68.41.Rovi Corp. (ROVI): ROVI is a 1.36% of the portfolio stake purchased this quarter at prices between $15.21 and $20.51. The stock is now at $19.99.Note: ROVI has had a previous roundtrip: a small 0.65% portfolio stake was almost eliminated in Q4 2015 at prices between $8.69 and $17.71 and the remnant position was disposed last quarter.MGM Resorts (MGM) Puts and iShares iBoxx Hi Yld ETF (HYG) Puts: These two short positions were established this quarter. The ~0.50% nominal MGM stake was purchased as the underlying traded between $21.27 and $25.09 and it is now at $24.43. The ~1.50% nominal HYG stake was established when the stock traded between $80.87 and $84.70 and it is now at $86.51.Stake Disposals:Facebook Inc. (FB): FB was a minutely small ~0.10% portfolio stake as of Q1 2015. It was increased to a fairly large 2.07% of the portfolio position in Q2 2015 at prices between $77.46 and $88.86. Q3 2015 saw a ~30% reduction at prices between $82.09 and $98.39 and that was followed with a ~55% reduction the following quarter at prices between $90 and $109. Last quarter saw a further ~46% reduction at prices between $94 and $116 and the elimination this quarter was at prices between $109 and $121. The stock currently trades at $124.Note: FB has had a previous roundtrip in the portfolio: Around ~1.8M shares were purchased in Q2 2014 at prices between $56 and $65. Most of it was disposed of the following quarter at prices between $66 and $79.Time Warner Cable (TWC): TWC was a ~1.46% of the US long portfolio position. It was established in Q2 2015 at prices between $149 and $184 and reduced by ~50% the following quarter at prices between $174 and $193. Q4 2015 saw another ~43% reduction at prices between $179 and $192 and that was followed with a ~19% reduction last quarter at prices between $176 and $206. Charter Communications (CHTR) acquired TWC in a cash-and-stock deal that closed in May.Select Sector SPDR Inds. (XLI) Calls: XLI Calls were a fairly large 3.67% portfolio position purchased last quarter when the underlying traded between $48 and $56 and eliminated this quarter when the stock traded between $53 and $57. It currently goes for $58.87.Equinix Inc. (EQIX): The 1.51% stake in EQIX was sold this quarter at prices between $320 and $388. Last quarter had seen a ~115% increase at prices between $265 and $331. The stock is now at $367.Baxalta Inc. (BXLT), Broadcom Limited (AVGO), Crown Castle Intl. (CCI), Ferrari N V (RACE), Schlumberger Ltd. (SLB), and Time Warner Inc. (TWX) Puts: These are very small (less than ~1% of the portfolio each) stakes eliminated this quarter.Stake Increases:DISH Network (DISH) & Calls: DISH was a minute 0.20% of the US long portfolio position as of Q1 2013. The following quarter saw a substantial increase at prices between $36 and $42.50. Last quarter saw an almost two-thirds reduction at prices between $39.71 and $57.35. There was an about turn this quarter: ~58% increase at prices between $43.40 and $56.06. The stock is now at $51.18 and the stake is at 0.81%.S&P 500 SPDR (SPY) Puts and iShares Russell 2000 ETF (IWM) Puts: These two short positions have wavered over the years. Recent activity follows: In Q1 2015 the SPY Puts were a large ~11% portfolio stake. The following quarter saw a reversal: The SPY Puts stake was reduced while adding a huge position in SPY Calls. Q3 2015 saw a reduction in both the positions. The net was a very small ~1.46% position in SPY Puts. In Q4 2015, the SPY Calls were sold while SPY Puts were increased significantly. Last quarter saw a stake doubling in SPY Puts and that was followed with a ~90% increase this quarter. SPY Puts are now a huge stake at 17.94% of the portfolio. The IWM Puts were built up over the last three quarters and that is now a fairly large position at 4.46%.Note: The activity in SPY & IWM on their own do not indicate a clear bias as Soros is known to use these ETFs to hedge other parts of his portfolio.China Biologic (CBPO), Model N Inc. (MODN), and Wayfair Inc. (W) & Calls: These very small (less than ~1% of the portfolio each) positions were increased substantially this quarter. Relative to the overall portfolio value, the sizes are still very small.Stake Decreases:Allergan plc (AGN) previously Actavis plc: AGN was Soros’ second-largest individual stock position at 3.18% of the 13F portfolio as of Q3 2015. The stake saw a huge ~390% increase that quarter at prices between $252 and $340. The following quarter saw a ~46% reduction at prices between $253 and $323 and that was followed with a ~53% reduction last quarter at prices between $266 and $313. The stake was again reduced by ~60% this quarter at prices between $202 and $278. The stock currently trades at $253 and the stake is now very small at 0.40%.American Airlines (AAL): The original very small position was increased by over 300% in Q2 & Q3 2014 at prices between $33 and $45. The stake was sold down over the following three quarters at prices between $29 and $56. In Q3 2015, there was a ~50% increase at prices between $37.50 and $44 while last quarter saw a ~40% reduction at prices between $35.55 and $43.47. This quarter saw another ~58% selling at prices between $25.27 and $41.34. The stock currently trades at $36.60 and the remaining stake is minutely small at ~0.28%.Adecoagro S A (AGRO): AGRO was the largest individual stock position at 5.27% of the US long portfolio as of Q4 2015. It was reduced by ~46% last quarter at prices between $11.03 and $13.23 and another ~15% this quarter. The original stake is from prior to its IPO. The stock currently trades at around $9.79 compared to the IPO price of $11. The remaining stake is still fairly large at 2.80%.Barrick Gold (ABX) & SPDR Gold Trust ETF (GLD) Calls: These two were large positions established last quarter. The ABX stake was the largest individual stock position in the 13F at 5.82% of the portfolio. It was purchased at prices between $7.38 and $15.18 and almost eliminated this quarter at prices between $13.50 and $21.35. The stock is now at $20.87. The 2.73% GLD Calls stake was established as the underlying traded between $101 and $122 during the quarter. The position was sold down by ~77% this quarter as the stock traded between $116 and $127. GLD currently trades at $129. Soros harvested large short-term profits by playing the uptrend in gold successfully.Note: ABX and the Gold ETFs have seen several roundtrips in the portfolio over the years.CIT Group Inc. (CIT): CIT is a 0.81% of the US long portfolio stake. It was purchased in Q3 2015 at prices between $39.61 and $48.51 and decreased by ~50% the following quarter at prices between $39.70 and $46.14. The position saw another ~15% trimming this quarter. The stock currently trades at $35.78.eBay Inc. (EBAY): EBAY is a 0.87% portfolio stake. The bulk of the buying happened in Q1 & Q3 2015 at prices between $22.32 and $28.75. Q4 2015 saw a ~36% reduction at prices between $24 and $29.59 while last quarter saw a ~8% increase. There was a ~53% selling this quarter at prices between $22.72 and $25.43. The stock currently trades at $30.61.Note: The prices quoted above are adjusted for the spinoff of PayPal from eBay.PayPal Holdings (PYPL): PYPL is a 0.64% of the portfolio position established in Q3 2015 as a result of the spinoff of PayPal from eBay. eBay shareholders received one share of PayPal for each share held. Q4 2015 saw a one-third reduction at prices between $31 and $38 and that was followed with another ~54% reduction last quarter at prices between $31.20 and $41.32. This quarter saw another ~40% reduction at prices between $34.20 and $40.31. PYPL currently trades at $38.13.Polycom Inc. (PLCM): The bulk of the 1.91% PLCM stake is from Q4 2013 and Q1 2014 at a cost-basis of around $11.50. Q4 2015 saw a ~18% reduction at prices between $10.42 and $14.04. The stock currently trades at $12.42. Soros has a ~6% ownership stake in the business. Last two quarters have seen minor trimming.Zoetis (ZTS): ZTS is a 1.28% of the US long portfolio stake. The bulk of the position is from Q4 2013 and Q1 2014 when the position was increased by ~160% at an average price of ~$32. Q2 2015 saw a one-third reduction at prices between $44 and $55 while the following quarter saw a ~28% increase at prices between $39.65 and $50.02. Last quarter saw a ~31% reduction at prices between $39.33 and $48.01 and that was followed with a ~46% selling this quarter at prices between $44.33 and $48.64. The stock currently trades at $52.30.Caesars Acquisition (CACQ) and Gaming & Leisure Properties (GLPI): These are small (less than ~1.5% of the portfolio each) stakes increased last quarter and reduced marginally this quarter.Amazon.com (AMZN), Caesars Entertainment (CZR), JD.com (JD), Kraft-Heinz (HNZ), Time Warner Inc. (TWX) Puts, Liberty Global Lilac (LILA) (LILAK), Mondelez Intl. (MDLZ), and Viavi Solutions (VIAV): These are very small (less than ~1% of the portfolio each) stakes that were reduced further this quarter.Kept Steady:Essent Group (ESNT): Soros had a stake in Essent Group prior to its October 2013 IPO at ~$22.50 per share. Q4 2013 regulatory filings showed him owning ~7.5M shares. Since Q4 2014, the stake had seen selling and it is now at ~1.5M shares. The selling was at prices between $21 and $29. The stock currently trades at $25.85.ChipMos Tech. (IMOS), Churchill Downs (CHDN), and Travelport Worldwide (TVPT): These very small (less than ~1% of the portfolio each) positions were kept steady during the quarter.Although the relative sizes are very small, it is significant that Soros has significant ownership stakes in the following businesses: Abeona Therapeutics (ABEO), Allot Communications (ALLT), EXA Corp. (EXA), Exar Corporation (EXAR), Model N (MODN), and Quantum Corp. (QTM).The spreadsheet below highlights Soros’s significant US long stock positions as of Q2 2016:13G/D/F & From 3/4s thru 2/18/2016: MODN - 13G on 2/16/2016 - 1.53M - 5.66% as of 1/15/2016. MXL - 13G/A on 2/16/2016 - 1.54M - 2.8%. LSCC - 13G/A on 2/16/2016 - 0. PLCM - 13G/A on 2/16/2016 - 8.47M shares - 6.39%. EXAR - 13G/A on 2/16/2016 - 1.84M shares - 3.8%. CY, PMCS- 13G/A on 2/16/2016 - 0. EXA - 13G/A on 2/16/2016 - 1.43M shares - 9.78%. ABEO - 13G/A on 2/16/2016 - 1.71M shares - 5.19%. WBMD - 13G/A on 2/16/2016 - 1.55M shares - 3.98% - convertible notes. ESNT - 13G/A on 2/16/2016 - 1.48M shares - 1.6%. PVAH - 13G/A on 2/16/2016 - 6M shares - 8.18%."