"Tracking David Tepper’s Appaloosa Management Portfolio – Q3 2015 Update"
"David Tepper’s US long equity portfolio decreased from $4.04B to $2.86B this quarter.General Motors is by far the largest individual stock position at 13.51% of the portfolio.The large stakes in Delta Air Lines and NXP Semiconductors were increased significantly during the quarter.This article is part of a series that provides an ongoing analysis of the changes made to David Tepper’s US stock portfolio on a quarterly basis. It is based on Appaloosa Management’s regulatory  filed on 11/13/2015. Please visit our  to get an idea of his investment philosophy and our  for the fund’s moves during Q2 2015.This quarter, Tepper’s US long equity portfolio decreased ~29% from $4.04B to $2.86B - last quarter saw a very similar decrease from $5.7B to $4.04B. The number of holdings decreased from 34 to 33. The top-five individual stock positions are General Motors (13.51%), HCA Holdings (9.60%), Delta Air Lines (9.52%), NXP Semiconductors NV (6.98%), and Goodyear Tire & Rubber (6.07%). Combined, they account for ~46% of the entire 13F holdings.To Add for Q4 2015 Update onwards: To know more about Tepper's distress investing style, check out .New Stakes:Southwest Airlines (LUV): LUV is a 2.17% position purchased at prices between $32.36 and $40.45 and the stock currently trades well above that range at $45.74. Tepper has plenty of exposure to the airline industry (Delta Air Lines, JetBlue, and United Continental Holdings).Nike Inc. (NKE) Puts and WMIH Corp. (WMIH): The 1.54% (nominal) bearish bet on NKE was established this quarter when the underlying share price varied between $101 and $125. The stock is now at $123. WMIH is a 1.52% long stake established this quarter at prices between $2.26 and $2.87 and the stock is now at $2.35. David Tepper was already involved in WMIH, the NOL shell (successor of Washington Mutual from the financial crisis era) sponsored by KKR, although the exposure to the common is new.Allstate Corp. (ALL), Eagle Materials (EXP), and Ingersoll-Rand (IR): ALL is a small 1.27% of the portfolio stake established this quarter at prices between $57 and $69. The stock currently trades at $63.12. EXP is a 1.85% of the portfolio position purchased this quarter at prices between $67.42 and $84.42. The stock currently trades at $69.29. IR is a 1.22% portfolio stake established at prices between $50.61 and $68.76 and the stock currently trades at $57.70.Stake Disposals:Alibaba Group (BABA): BABA is a 2.77% of the US long portfolio position established last quarter at prices between $80 and $94 and eliminated in early July at around $80 per share. The stock currently trades at $78.32.Note 1: BABA had a previous round-trip in the portfolio: It was a very small 0.95% of the US long portfolio stake established in Q3 2014 at prices between $86.10 and $93.89 and disposed of the following quarter at prices between $84.95 and $119.Note 2: In September, Tepper said he lost money in the Chinese market as he had incorrectly read the policy situation in China.Masco Corporation (MAS): The original MAS stake was almost doubled in Q2 2014 at prices between $19.54 and $22.89. Q3 2014 saw a ~6% reduction at prices between $20.27 and $24.44 and the following quarter saw a further ~21% reduction at prices between $20.86 and $25.40. Last quarter saw another ~45% reduction at prices between $25.65 and $27.92 and the remaining stake was sold this quarter at prices between $22.63 and $28.35. The stock currently trades at $28.78.Bank of America (BAC), D R Horton Inc. (DHI), Lennar Corporation (LEN), Mohawk Industries (MHK), and Regions Financial (RF): These very small (less than ~1% of the portfolio each) stakes were sold out this quarter.Stake Increases:Chicago Bridge & Iron (CBI): CBI has been in the portfolio since Q2 2013. Around 1.5M shares were purchased for around $56 at that time. The position has wavered since and the current stake is at 1.25M shares. Last two quarters have seen minor increases. The stock currently trades at $42.18.Delta Airlines (DAL):  DAL is the third-largest position at 9.52% of the portfolio that was first purchased in 2012 at a cost-basis in the high single digits. The position has wavered since. This quarter saw a ~42% increase at prices between $40 and $48. The stock currently trades at $47.93. Tepper has huge long-term gains on this position.NXP Semiconductors (NXPI): NXP is a top five stake at 6.98% of the US long portfolio. It was established in Q3 2014 at prices between $60.50 and $73.01. This quarter saw a ~38% increase at prices between $79.26 and $99.28. The stock currently trades at $78.73.Note: In March, NXP agreed to acquire Freescale Semiconductor (FSL) and shareholders approved the merger in July.Triumph Group (TGI): TGI is a very small 1.24% of the portfolio stake. It was increased by ~10% in Q1 2015 at prices between $53.96 and $67.22. The bulk of the position was purchased in Q1 2014 at prices between $62 and $79. This quarter saw a marginal increase. The stock currently trades at $40.25.United Rentals (URI): URI was first purchased in Q1 2015 at prices between $82.31 and $104 and increased by ~17% last quarter at prices between $87.24 and $105. This quarter saw a further ~39% increase at prices between $59.48 and $87.62. It now trades at $74.75. The stake is now at 1.30% of the US long portfolio.Whirlpool Corporation (WHR): WHR is a fairly large ~5.83% of the US long portfolio position. Q3 2014 saw a stake doubling at prices between $139 and $156. Q1 2014 also saw a 125% increase at prices between $127 and $159. In Q4 2014, the pattern reversed: ~15% reduction at prices between $140 and $194. Q1 2015 saw another one-third reduction at prices between $187 and $215. Last quarter saw a minor reduction while this quarter saw a marginal increase. The stock currently trades at $155.Terex Corporation (TEX): TEX is a very small ~1% stake that had a minor increase this quarter.Stake Decreases:Apple Inc. (AAPL): AAPL is a fairly large 5.04% of the US long portfolio stake established last quarter at prices between $120 and $133. This quarter saw a ~48% reduction at prices between $103 and $132. The stock currently trades at $114.Note: Tepper has traded Apple frequently over the last three years: It became a significant presence in Q1 2012, when around 3.5M shares (split-adjusted) were purchased at prices between $60 and $87. The stake represented around 10% of the US long portfolio at the time. In Q4 2012, another 2.8M shares were purchased at prices between $73 and $94. The stock was consistently sold from the next quarter onwards and by Q4 2013 the position was at 1.5M shares. Most of the selling happened in Q1 2013 and Q2 2013 at prices between $56 and $75. Q1 2014 saw a 16% stake increase at prices between $71 and $80. In Q4 2014, the pattern reversed again: 31% reduction at prices between $92.93 and $103. The remaining 1.72% position was eliminated in Q1 2015 at prices between $96.26 and $119.Eastman Chemical (EMN): EMN is a small 1.77% of the US long portfolio position. It saw a huge ~92% increase in Q1 2015 at prices between $68.64 and $76.48. Last two quarters have seen minor reductions. The stock currently trades at $69.61.General Motors (GM): GM is Appaloosa’s largest 13F individual stock position at 13.51% of the US long portfolio. The bulk of the original stake was purchased in Q1 2012 and Q2 2012 at prices between $21 and $27. Q1 2014 saw a ~60% increase at prices between $34 and $41 and the following quarter the position was increased by another two-thirds at prices between $32 and $37. Q1 2015 also saw a ~25% increase at prices between $32.62 and $38.87. The pattern reversed this quarter: roughly one-third reduction at prices between $27.28 and $33.33. The stock currently trades at $35.17.Goodyear Tire & Rubber (GT): GT is a very long-term top-five 6.07% position that has been in the portfolio since before the financial crisis. In 2007, the stake stood at 2.7M shares (~5% of portfolio). The position size peaked at 22M shares in Q2 2013 when a large increase happened at prices between $12 and $15.50. The stake has been sold down since. This quarter saw a ~41% reduction at prices between $27.83 and $32.66. The stock currently trades at $32.31. Tepper is starting to harvest huge long-term gains from this position.Alphabet Inc. (GOOG) (GOOGL) previously Google: GOOG has been a significant presence in the portfolio since Q1 2012 and the original purchase was at prices between $290 and $325. The stake was increased by 87% in Q1 2014 at prices between $550 and $610 (split-adjusted). It was increased by 22% in Q2 2014 as well at prices between $510 and $579. Q4 2014 saw an about-turn as around 19% of the position was sold at prices between $495 and $577 and the following quarter saw a further ~8% reduction at prices between $493 and $575. Last quarter saw a large 56% further reduction at prices between $520 and $565 and that was followed with a ~47% reduction this quarter at prices between $517 and $673. The stock currently trades at $729 and the stake is now at 3.97% of the portfolio. Appaloosa is harvesting long-term gains from this position.HCA Holdings (HCA): HCA became a significant position in the portfolio in Q4 2012 when over 4M shares were purchased in the low-30s price-range. It currently trades at $67.20. It is the second-largest individual stock position at 9.60% of the US long portfolio. Last quarter saw a ~15% reduction at prices between $73.61 and $91.84 and that was followed with a similar reduction this quarter at prices between $74 and $95. Tepper is starting to harvest huge long-term gains.HD Supply Holdings ((HDS): HDS became a significant presence in the portfolio in Q1 2014 when around 1M shares were purchased for around $23 per share. The original stake was increased by ~118% in Q1 2015 at prices between $27.02 and $31.41. Last quarter saw a ~12% trimming at prices between $31.16 and $35.50 and it currently trades at $28.96. The stake is now at 2.27% of the portfolio. This quarter saw very minor selling.Huntsman Corporation (HUN): HUN is a 2.72% of the US long portfolio position that has been in the portfolio since Q1 2012. Just over 5M shares were purchased at that time for around $13 per share. The stake is now at 8M shares and the stock trades at $12.78. Q1 2015 saw a one-third increase at prices between $21.26 and $24.40. This quarter saw a marginal further reduction.JetBlue Airways (JBLU): The 4.04% JBLU stake was established at prices between $14.38 and $19.58. The stock currently trades well above that range at $25.02. This quarter saw a ~9% trimming.Mylan NV (MYL): MYL is a very small 0.66% stake established last quarter at prices between $58 and $76. It was reduced by ~53% this quarter at prices between $39.80 and $71.49. The stock is now at $50.Owens Corning (OC): The original OC stake was established in Q1 2012 & Q2 2012 at prices between $29 and $37. Q4 2014 saw a ~14% reduction at prices between $29 and $36.80. Last quarter saw a ~22% increase at prices between $38.31 and $43.40. There was a ~7% trimming this quarter. The stake is now at 4.92%. The stock currently trades at $46.54.Priceline Group Inc. (PCLN): PCLN is a fairly large 4.23% of the US long portfolio position established in Q1 2014 at prices between $1113 and $1370. In Q2 2014, the stake was increased by over 70% at prices between $1108 and $1292 and Q3 2014 saw a further ~16% increase at prices between $1154 and $1309. In Q4 2014, there was an about-turn as the position was reduced by ~14% at prices between $1040 and $1206 and that was followed with a ~25% reduction last quarter at prices between $1108 and $1268. This quarter saw a further ~57% reduction at prices between $1117 and $1352. The stock currently trades at $1267.United Continental Holdings (UAL): UAL was a large 4.68% of the US long portfolio stake in Q4 2014. The bulk of the stake was established in Q1 2012 at prices between $18.21 and $25. Q1 2015 saw a ~19% reduction at prices between $63.83 and $73.62 and that was followed with a huge ~62% reduction last quarter at prices between $51.23 and $67.25. This quarter saw another ~69% reduction at prices between $51.50 and $61.56. The stock currently trades at $58.08. Tepper is harvesting huge long-term gains from this position and the remaining stake is at 0.87% of the portfolio.Axial Corporation (AXLL), KBR Inc. (KBR), Ryland Group (RYL), and USG Corporation (USG): These are very small positions (less than ~1% of the US long portfolio) that were further reduced this quarter.Kept Steady:SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) & Calls: SPY was the largest position at 22% of the US long portfolio in Q1 2014. The stake was drastically reduced in Q2 2014 from 22% to 3.84%. In Q4 2014, the remaining stake was almost eliminated when SPY traded between $186 and $209. A similar pattern of trading played out over H1 2015: a huge stake increase to a 16.38% portfolio stake (nominal) using SPY Calls in Q1 2015 followed by liquidation last quarter. Currently, it is a minutely small position at 0.15% of the portfolio.Appaloosa’s 13F portfolio also has minutely small stakes in General Motors Warrants.The spreadsheet below highlights changes to Tepper’s US stock holdings in Q3 2015:"