"Tracking George Soros’s Portfolio – Q2 2020 Update"
"Soros' 13F portfolio value increased from $1.98B to $4.48B this quarter. The number of positions increased from 118 to 141.Soros added SelectQuote and Hain Celestial while reducing Peloton Interactive. A large short position in iShares Russell 2000 ETF thru Puts was also established during the quarter.Liberty Broadband at ~15% of the portfolio is by far the largest position.This article is part of a series that provides an ongoing analysis of the changes made to George Soros’s 13F stock portfolio on a quarterly basis. It is based on George Soros’s regulatory  filed on 08/14/2020. Please visit our  for an idea on his investment philosophy and our  for the fund’s moves during Q1 2020.Soros Fund Management invests globally and the long positions in the US market reported in the 13F filings represent ~20% of the overall portfolio. The 13F portfolio value increased ~125% this quarter from $1.98B to $4.48B. The number of positions increased from 118 to 141. Very small stock positions and large debt holdings together account for ~19% of the 13F holdings. The 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. The focus of this article is on the larger equity positions. The top three individual stocks held are Liberty Broadband, T-Mobile US, and SelectQuote. To learn about Soros’ distinct trading style and philosophy, check out his “” and other works.Note: in an interview earlier this month, Soros tersely explained his trading philosophy and market edge as taking advantage of the following: a) fallibility – in situations that have thinking participants, the participants’ view of the world is always incomplete and distorted, and b) reflexivity – the distorted views can influence the situation to which they relate, and it leads to inappropriate actions. He also believes the edge is now gone as the information was made public in his book.New stakes:iShares Russell 2000 ETF (IWM) Puts and iShares Barclays 1-3yr Bond Fund (IGSB): These are large new positions established this quarter. The ~11% short position in IWM thru Puts was established as the underlying traded between $105 and $153. IWM currently trades at ~$156. IGSB is a 4.41% stake purchased at prices between $52 and $55 and it is now at ~$55.Note: Soros is known to use ETFs to hedge other parts of his portfolio. As such, such positions do not indicate a clear market bias.SelectQuote (SLQT) and Hain Celestial Group (HAIN): These are fairly large new positions established this quarter. SelectQuote had an IPO in May. Shares started trading at ~$27.50 and currently goes for $20.10. Soros’ stake is at 3.14% of the portfolio. The ~3% HAIN position was purchased at prices between $25 and $32 and the stock currently trades just above that range at $33.89.PG&E Corp (PCG), DraftKings Inc. (DKNG), Otis Worldwide (OTIS), and Darden Restaurants (DRI): These medium-sized positions were established during the quarter. The 2.33% PCG stake was purchased at prices between $7.90 and $12.60 and the stock currently trades at $8.93. DKNG is a 1.84% position established at prices between $11.75 and $43.70 and it is now at $36.32. DKNG was a favorite among Robinhood traders during the quarter and it is likely that Soros took advantage of the resultant up-trend. The 1.54% OTIS sake was purchased at prices between $44 and $61 and it is now at ~$63. DRI is a 1.49% portfolio stake established at prices between $44 and $86 and it currently goes for $80.91.SPDR Portfolio Short-Term Corporate Bond ETF (SPSB), Bank of America (BAC), Morgan Stanley (MS), Citigroup Inc. (C ), Sea Ltd. (SE), JPMorgan Chase (JPM), PNC Financial (PNC), US Bancorp (USB), and Tiffany & Company (TIF) Puts: These are very small (less than ~0.75% of the portfolio each) new positions established during the quarter.Note: Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase are back in the portfolio after a quarter’s gap. In addition, Soros either started or increased several positions in large-cap financials during the quarter.Stake Disposals:Cypress Semiconductor (CY): The ~2% CY position was a merger-arbitrage stake. It got acquired by Infineon in a transaction that closed in April.UnitedHealth Group (UNH): UNH was a very small 0.51% stake as of last quarter. The original small stake was doubled in Q4 2018 at prices between $233 and $286. It was sold down by ~60% in Q1 2019 at prices between $236 and $271. Next quarter saw a ~230% stake increase at prices between $217 and $250. Last quarter saw a two-thirds selling at prices between $195 and $305. The remainder position was disposed this quarter. The stock is now at ~$313.Wright Medical (WMGI): The very small 0.86% of the portfolio stake in WMGI was eliminated during the quarter.Stake Increases:SPDR Utils (XLU), iShares Trust iBoxx ETF (LQD), T-Mobile US (TMUS), and TransDigm Group (TDG): These positions saw substantial increases this quarter. XLU is a 4.41% of the portfolio position established last quarter at prices between $45 and $71 and increased by ~340% this quarter at prices between $52 and $63. It is now at $59.32. The 4.15% LQD stake was purchased at prices between $105 and $134 and increased by ~600% this quarter at prices between $121 and $135. The stock currently trades at ~$136. The 3.38% TMUS position primarily built this quarter at prices between $82 and $110 and it is now at ~$115. TDG is a 1.71% stake purchased last quarter at prices between $246 and $658 and the stock currently trades at ~$483. This quarter saw a ~15% stake increase.VICI Properties (VICI): In October 2017, Caesars Entertainment combined with Caesars Acquisition in a merger (bankruptcy court reorg). The bankruptcy reorg included the spinoff of VICI Properties whereby the creditors received VICI shares. The 2.77% of the portfolio position in VICI came about as a result of this transaction – Soros had huge stakes (both equity and debt) in the parent businesses. The stock started trading at $18 per share and currently goes for $23.11. Q2 2019 saw a ~5% stake increase while last quarter saw a ~10% reduction. There was a ~62% selling in Q4 2019 at prices between $22.50 and $25.50 and that was followed with a ~30% further reduction last quarter at prices between $11.20 and $28.15. This quarter saw a ~25% stake increase at prices between $13.75 and $23.NortonLifeLock (NLOK) previously Symantec: NLOK is a 2.13% portfolio stake established in Q2 2019 at prices between $18 and $24.50. Next quarter saw a ~5% stake increase and that was followed with a ~70% stake increase in Q4 2019 at prices between $22.50 and $26.50. The stock currently trades at $22.65. There was a ~18% selling last quarter at prices between $16.50 and $28.50. This quarter saw a ~80% stake increase at prices between $18 and $23.Note: a $12 per share special dividend was distributed in January – their enterprise security business was sold to Broadcom (AVGO) and the company had promised to return the entire after-tax proceeds to shareholders.Grifols S A (GRFS): The 1.10% portfolio stake in GRFS was acquired in Q1 2019 at prices between $17.50 and $21 and the stock currently trades at $17.10. Last two quarters have seen a ~30% stake increase at prices between $16.25 and $25.75.Caesars Entertainment (CZR): Soros had huge stakes (both equity and debt) in Caesars Entertainment and Caesars acquisition. In October 2017, they combined in a bankruptcy court reorg. The terms called for Caesars Acquisition shareholders to receive 1.625 shares of CZR for each share held. The transaction resulted in Soros’ position in CZR increasing from ~3M shares to 34.5M shares - his debt holdings also got converted in the reorg. Q1 to Q3 2019 had seen the position sold down by ~60% at prices between $6.75 and $12.25. Next quarter saw the stake almost sold out at prices between $11.50 and $13.75. In June, Eldorado Resorts (ERI) agreed to buy the company in a cash-and-stock deal ($8.40 cash and 0.0899 ERI shares for each share of CZR held) engineered by Carl Icahn. The deal closed last month. The quarter had seen a ~220% stake increase.Note: The combined company took the Caesars Entertainment name and ticker after the deal closure.AGNC Investment Corp (AGNC), Aramark Inc. (ARMK), Bank of New York Mellon (BK), E*TRADE Financial (ETFC), Goldman Sachs (GS), and TD Ameritrade (AMTD): These small stakes were increased this quarter.  E*TRADE and TD Ameritrade are merger-arbitrage stakes.Stake Decreases:D R Horton (DHI): The 2.22% DHI stake was established in Q1 2019 at prices between $35 and $47 and increased by ~70% next quarter at prices between $42 and $47. Q3 2019 saw a ~18% selling at prices between $43.50 and $53 while last quarter there was a ~75% stake increase at prices between $29 and $62. This quarter saw a ~25% selling at prices between $32 and $59. The stock currently trades at ~$74.60.Activision Blizzard (ATVI): ATVI is a 1.81% of the portfolio stake established in Q4 2019 at prices between $52 and $59 and increased by ~45% last quarter at prices between $52 and $64. The stock currently trades well above those ranges at ~$84. This quarter saw minor trimming.Peloton Interactive (PTON): PTON had an IPO last October. Shares started trading at ~$25 and currently goes for $68.72. Q4 2019 saw a ~80% selling at prices between $21 and $37 while last quarter there was a ~10x stake increase to a top-five ~4% portfolio stake at prices between ~$20 and ~$35. This quarter saw selling: ~85% reduction to a small 0.66% portfolio stake at prices between $26.50 and $60.Legg Mason (LM): LM was a 0.57% merger-arbitrage stake. It got acquired by Franklin Resources (BEN) for $50 per share (all-cash) in a deal that closed last month. The quarter had seen minor selling.Tiffany & Company (TIF) and Vistra Energy (VST): These small (less than ~1% of the portfolio each) positions were reduced this quarter.Note: Last November, LVMH Moët Hennessy (LVMUY) agreed to acquire Tiffany for $135 per share cash.Kept Steady:Liberty Broadband (LBRDK): LBRDK is the largest individual stock position by far at ~15% of the portfolio. The stake was established in Q2 2016 at prices between $55 and $60.50. The stock has doubled and is currently trading at ~$140. Q4 2019 saw a ~20% reduction at prices between $103 and $125. That was followed with a ~7% trimming last quarter.Alphabet Inc. (GOOG): GOOG is a ~1% of the portfolio position purchased in Q2 2019 at prices between $1036 and $1288 and reduced by ~50% last quarter at prices between $1057 and $1527. The stock is now at ~$1576.Note: Alphabet is a frequently traded stock in Soros’ portfolio.Alcon Inc. (ALC): The ~1% ALC position was purchased in Q3 2019 at prices between $56 and $62.50. There was a ~20% selling in Q4 2019 at prices between $55 and $59 while last quarter saw a roughly two-thirds increase at prices between $40 and $64. It is now at ~$58.50.LPL Financial (LPLA): The bulk of the 0.84% of the portfolio stake in LPLA was purchased in Q2 2018 at prices between $57 and $71 and the stock currently trades at ~$80. There had only been minor adjustments since.iShares National Muni ETF (MUB): The 0.62% MUB position was established last quarter at prices between $102 and $118 and it now goes for ~$116.Note: Regulatory filings since the quarter ended show them holding a ~5% beneficial ownership position in Xeris Pharma (XERS) thru 5% convertible notes.The spreadsheet below highlights Soros’s significantly large 13F positions as of Q2 2020:Regulatory filings thru 5/20/2020: 3/6 – 13G – PTON – 2.73M shares – 5.74% of business, 2/21 – 13G – SENS – 10.9M shares - ~5% of business."