"Tracking John Paulsons Paulson & Company Portfolio  Q2 2021 Update"
"John Paulsons 13F portfolio value remained steady at $4.35B this quarter.Paulson & Company's added Didi Global & increased Occidental Petroleum while reducing Viatris and dropping Takeda.The top three positions are at 45% of the portfolio.This article is part of a series that provides an ongoing analysis of the changes made to John Paulsons 13F stock portfolio on a quarterly basis. It is based on Paulsons regulatory  filed on 8/16/2021. Please visit our  to get an idea of his investment philosophy and our  for the funds moves during Q1 2021.This quarter, Paulsons 13F portfolio value remained steady at $4.35B. There are 40 13F securities in the portfolio although only 32 of them are significantly large equity holdings (more than 0.5% of the 13F portfolio). The article is focused on the larger holdings. The top five positions are Bausch Health, Horizon Therapeutics, Brightsphere Investment Group, Novagold, and Didi Global and they add up to ~53% of the portfolio.John Paulson is best known for his highly leveraged bets against the real-estate bubble that netted him billions in the aftermath. To learn more about that, check-out the book . Last July, Paulson announced that they are returning all outside money and are converting to a Family Office structure.Note 1: Last month, Paulson called a bubble in crypto (GBTC) (ETHE) saying I would describe cryptocurrencies as a limited supply of nothing. But, he is not shorting crypto because of its volatility.Note 2: Paulson & Company is known to have a huge position in Fannie/Freddie (FNMA) (FMCC) although the details have not been disclosed.Stake Disposals:Alexion Pharmaceuticals (ALXN): Alexion was a merger arbitrage stake. AstraZeneca (AZN) bought Alexion in a cash-and-stock ($60 cash and 2.1243 AstraZeneca ADSs for each share held) deal announced last December. Paulsons fairly large 4.92% portfolio stake was built at prices between ~$100 and ~$160. The transaction closed last month.Takeda Pharma (TAK): The ~2% TAK stake as of last quarter came about as a result of Takedas Shire plc acquisition in a cash-and-stock deal ($90.99 cash and 5.034 shares of TAK for each share of SHPG held). Paulson had a ~10% portfolio stake in Shire plc for which he received these shares after that transaction closed last January. Last quarter saw the stake reduced by ~60% to a ~2% portfolio stake at prices between $16.70 and $19.90. The disposal this quarter was at prices between ~$16.50 and ~$18.65. Takeda currently trades at $17.14.Michaels Companies (MIK) and Talend SA (TLND): The ~1% MIK position was a merger-arbitrage stake. The business was taken private by Apollo Global Management in a $22 per share cash deal that closed in April. TLND was also a ~1% merger-arbitrage stake. They got acquired by Thoma Bravo in a $66 per share cash deal that closed in July.RealPage Inc. (RP), and SPDR Energy ETF (XLE): These two are small (less than ~1% of the portfolio each) stakes established in Q4 2020. RealPage was a merger-arbitrage stake. Last December, Thoma Bravo agreed to acquire RealPage for $88.75 per share cash and that transaction closed in April.New Stakes:Didi Global (DIDI), APA Corporation (APA), and Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A): These are the new positions this quarter. DIDI had an IPO in June. Shares started trading at ~$14 and currently goes for ~$9. Paulsons 3.60% of the portfolio position goes back to investments made in the 2016-2018 timeframe. The ~2% APA stake was purchased at prices between ~$17 and ~$23.50 and it is now at $19.04. RDS.A is a 1.89% of the portfolio position established this quarter at prices between ~$37.75 and ~$42.35 and it now goes for $39.53.Ballys Corporation (BALY), BP plc (BP), Kansas City Southern (KSU), Vaneck Vectors Oil Services ETF (OIH), Total Energies SE (TTE), and Discovery Inc. (DISCK): These are very small (less than ~1.25% of the portfolio each) new positions established this quarter.Stake Decreases:Dish Network (DISH): DISH is a 3.21% portfolio position established in Q1 2017 at prices between $58 and $64. Q2 & Q3 2017 saw a combined ~36% stake increase at prices between $52 and $66. The stock is currently well below the low end of those ranges at $45.30. Q2 2020 saw a ~27% selling at prices between $18.70 and $37.30. There was a ~8% trimming this quarter.Pacira Biosciences (PCRX): The 1.77% PCRX stake was built in Q2 & Q3 2019 at prices between $35.50 and $48 and it is now at $56.81. There was a ~25% reduction in Q2 2020 at prices between $31 and $53. Q4 2020 saw a ~13% stake increase while this quarter saw a similar reduction.Viatris (VTRS) previously Mylan Inc. (MYL): VTRS stake is now at 1.10% of the portfolio. The original stake was purchased in Q1 2010 at prices between $17 and $23. Last significant buying was in Q2 2015: ~50% increase at prices between $58 and $76. 2017 & 2018 had seen a ~50% selling at prices between $30.50 and $47. That was followed with a ~70% reduction this quarter at prices between ~$13 and ~$16.15. The stock currently trades at $14.55.SPDR Gold Trust (GLD): A huge stake in GLD was established in Q1 2009 at prices between $83 and $98 and was reduced by ~45% in 2011 at much higher prices. It was reduced by more than half in Q2 2013 as well at prices between $116 and $155. Q4 2015 and the following quarter saw a combined ~60% reduction at prices between $100 and $122. Q1 2020 saw another ~55% selling at prices between $138 and $158. This quarter saw the position almost sold out at prices between ~$158 and ~$179. The stock currently trades at ~$167.Stake Increases:Occidental Petroleum (OXY): OXY is a 3.59% stake that saw a ~150% increase last quarter at prices between ~$17.50 and ~$31.25. This quarter saw another two-thirds increase at prices between ~$23.20 and ~$32.90. The stock is now at $24.91.Exxon Mobil (XOM): XOM is a small 2.17% stake built over the last two quarters at prices between ~$32 and ~$62. This quarter saw a ~50% stake increase at prices between ~$55 and ~$65. The stock is now at $54.05Barrick Gold (GOLD) and Seabridge Gold (SA): The 2.16% GOLD stake saw a ~130% stake increase in Q4 2020 at prices between ~$22.50 and ~$29.50. There was a ~50% stake increase this quarter at prices between ~$19.80 and ~$25.30. The stock is now at $19.86. The small 0.83% SA position saw a ~125% increase in Q4 2020 at prices between ~$17 and ~$21. There was a roughly one-third increase this quarter at prices between ~$16.15 and ~$19.75. It currently trades at $17.97.Kept Steady:Bausch Health Companies (BHC) previously Valeant Pharmaceuticals: BHC position was increased by almost 300% in Q1 2015 at prices between $143 and $205 and another ~340% the following quarter at prices between $197 and $242. Q4 2015 also saw a ~50% increase at prices between $70 and $182. The aggressive buying against falling prices continued in Q2 2016: ~44% increase at prices between $19 and $36. Q2 2020 saw another ~25% stake increase at ~$16.50 per share. The stock currently trades at $28.50 and the stake has become the largest position in the portfolio at 17.40%.Horizon Pharmaceuticals (HZNP): HZNP is currently the second-largest position at 17.19% of the portfolio. It was purchased in Q2 2017 at prices between $9.65 and $15.75 and increased by ~40% in Q4 2017 at prices between $13 and $15. There was a ~23% stake increase in Q3 2019 at prices between $23 and $28. Q2 2020 saw a ~16% selling at prices between $30 and $57 while in Q4 2020 there was a ~20% stake increase at prices between ~$67 and ~$84. The stock is now at ~$108.BrightSphere Investment Group (BSIG): The large (top three) ~11% BSIG stake was built in Q4 2018 at prices between $10 and $13.30. Q1 2019 saw a huge ~285% stake increase at prices between $11 and $14.25. The stock currently trades at $26.91.Note: Paulsons ownership stake in BSIG is ~25%.NovaGold Resources (NG): NG is a ~4% of the portfolio long-term stake established in 2010. Q2 2016 saw a ~28% reduction at prices between $5 and $6.50 and that was followed with a ~13% selling in Q4 2016. Q1 2020 saw a ~15% stake increase at prices between $5.87 and $9.51 while next quarter saw a ~12% trimming at prices between $7.40 and $12. The stock is currently at $7.14.Note: Paulson has a high cost-basis on NG and controls ~7% of the business.Perpetua Resources (PPTA): The fairly large 3.51% PPTA stake was purchased in Q4 2020 at prices between ~$6 and ~$11 and the stock currently trades below that range at $5.05.Note: Paulson & Company has a one-third ownership stake in the business.AngloGold Ashanti (AU): AU is a 2.55% position. It is a long-term stake that has been in the portfolio since 2009. Q4 2015 had seen a ~9% trimming while the following quarter saw a one-third reduction at prices between $7 and $14. Q2 2016 saw another ~20% reduction at prices between $13 and $18. H1 2020 had seen a ~45% reduction at prices between $14 and $30. That was followed with a ~14% selling in Q4 2020. The stock is currently at $15.85.Thryv Holdings (THRY) previously Dex Media: The 2.30% THRY stake was established in Q4 2020 at prices between ~$8 and ~$14. Last quarter saw a ~12% trimming at $27 per share. The stock currently trades at $29.47. Paulson & Company still has a ~10% ownership stake in the business.Endo International plc (ENDP): The ~2% ENDP position saw a ~50% stake increase in Q3 2020 at prices between ~$2.75 and ~$3.65. That was followed with a 25% increase in Q4 2020 at prices between ~$3.35 and ~$7.20. It is a long-term stake that has been in the portfolio since 2015. Their original ~9.6M share position was built during the three quarters through Q1 2016 at a very high cost-basis compared to the current trading price of $2.11. The stake had wavered over the years.Note: Their ownership stake in the business is ~8%.International Tower Hill Mines (THM): THM is a 1.49% of the portfolio stake established in the 2013-2015 timeframe at a very low cost-basis. Q4 2020 saw the purchase of around 2.34M shares at ~$1.40. The stock is now at $0.84.Note: Paulson has a ~32% ownership stake in International Tower Hill Mines.Kirkland Lake Gold (KL): KL is a 1.33% of the portfolio position established in Q1 2020 at prices between $23 and $45 and the stock currently trades at $41.55.Tim SA (TIMB): The ~1% TIMB stake was primarily built last quarter at prices between ~$11 and ~$14. It currently trades at $11.05.Pretium Resources (PVG): PVG is a very small 0.53% of the portfolio stake purchased in Q4 2019 at prices between $8.70 and $12.50 and the stock currently trades at $10.06.Newmark Group (NMRK), SSR Mining Inc. (SSR), and Trilogy Metals (TMQ): These very small (less than ~1% of the portfolio each) stakes were kept steady this quarter.Note: Paulson has a ~7% ownership stake in Overseas Shipholding Group (OSG). As a percentage of the portfolio, the position is minutely small.The spreadsheet below highlights changes to Paulsons US stock holdings in Q2 2021:Source: John Vincent. Data constructed from Paulson & Companys 13F filings for Q1 2021 and Q2 2021.Regulatory filings from 3/2/2021 thru 5/25/2021: None."