"Tracking John Paulsons Paulson & Company Portfolio  Q2 2017 Update"
"John Paulsons U.S. long portfolio decreased from $7.53B to $7.38B this quarter.Paulson & Company's largest three positions are Allergan plc, Mylan NV, and Shire plc.Paulson reduced Extended Stay America while increasing T-Mobile and adding Vistra Energy & Altaba.This article is part of a series that provides an ongoing analysis of the changes made to John Paulsons US stock portfolio on a quarterly basis. It is based on Paulsons regulatory  filed on 08/14/2017. Please visit our  to get an idea of his investment philosophy and our  for the funds moves during Q1 2017.This quarter, Paulsons US long portfolio decreased ~2% from $7.53B to $7.38B. There are 110 13F securities in the portfolio although only 34 of them are significantly large equity holdings (more than 0.5% of the US long portfolio). The article is focused on the larger holdings. The top five positions are Allergan plc, Mylan NV, Shire plc, SPDR Gold ETF, and Valeant Pharmaceuticals and they add up to ~38% of the portfolio. The largest holding is Allergan plc at 8.90% 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 story, check-out .Stake Disposals:Akorn Inc. (AKRX): The 2.68% AKRX position was first purchased in Q4 2015 at prices between $22 and $37.50 and increased by ~225% the following quarter at prices between $18.50 and $38.50. The disposal this quarter was at prices between $23 and $34. The stock is now at $32.60. Paulson controlled ~6.7% of Akorn as of last quarter.Note: In April, Fresenius (FMS) agreed to acquire Akorn for $34 per share cash.Mead Johnson (MJN): MJN stake was increased by roughly 37-times to a 1.40% portfolio position last quarter at prices between $69.50 and $89. This quarter, the position was eliminated as MJN was acquired by Reckitt Benckiser (RBGLY) for $90 per share cash. The transaction closed in June.New Stakes:Vistra Energy (VST) previously TCEH, Altaba Inc. (AABA) previously Yahoo, VWR Corp (VWR), and Horizon Pharmaceuticals (HZNP): These are the new positions this quarter. VST is a 2.62% of the portfolio position. It exited bankruptcy last December and started trading in NYSE in May at ~$15 per share. The stock is now at $17.12. The ~2% AABA stake was established at prices between $46 and $56 and it now goes for $62.20. VWR is a 1.20% portfolio position purchased at prices between $27 and $34 and the stock is currently at $32.95. The very small 0.79% HZNP position purchase was at prices between $9.65 and $15.75 and it is now at $13.14.Note: In May, Avantor agreed to acquire VWR for $33.25 per share cash.Stake Decreases:Allergan plc (AGN): AGN was a minutely small 0.29% of the US long portfolio position in Q2 2014. The following two quarters saw a ~420% increase at prices between $202 and $271. Q2 2015 saw a further ~27% increase at prices between $283 and $313. In Q4 2015 there was an about-turn: ~23% reduction at prices between $253 and $323. Q2 2016 saw another ~26% selling at prices between $202 and $278. There was a ~8% trimming in Q4 2016 and that was followed with a ~22% selling last quarter at prices between $211 and $250. The stock is currently at $225 and the stake is Paulsons largest at 8.90% of the portfolio. There was a ~8% trimming this quarter.Mylan Inc. (MYL): MYL is a top-three position at 8.48% of the portfolio. The original stake was purchased in Q1 2010 at prices between $17 and $23. Q1 2013 saw a 25% reduction at prices between $27.50 and $31 and the following quarter saw another one-third reduction at prices between $29 and $32. Q4 2014 saw an about-turn: ~20% increase at prices between $45 and $59 and that was followed with a ~47% increase in Q2 2015 at prices between $58 and $76. The stock trades currently at $30.56. There was a ~20% selling last quarter at prices between $35.50 and $45.50 and that was followed with a ~8% trimming this quarter.Shire PLC ADR (SHPG): SHPG is currently the third-largest position at ~8% of the US long portfolio. It was established in Q3 2012 at prices between $85 and $94. In Q2 2013, the position was doubled at prices between $87 and $100. In Q2 2014, the stake was again increased by ~36% at prices between $142 and $236. The following quarter saw a whopping ~170% increase at prices between $232 and $263. In Q2 2015, the pattern reversed: ~15% reduction at prices between $227 and $260. Q2 & Q3 2016 also saw a combined ~40% reduction at prices between $165 and $207. The stock currently trades at $148. Last two quarters had seen a combined ~14% trimming at prices between $162 and $207 and this quarter saw similar selling at prices between $162 and $190. Paulson is realizing long-term gains.Mallinckrodt PLC (MNK): MNK is a 4.18% of the US long portfolio position established in Q3 2013 at prices between $42 and $47. Q2 & Q3 2014 saw a combined 55% increase at prices between $60 and $90. There was some selling in H1 2015: ~28% reduction at prices between $94 and $130. Q4 2015 saw the pattern reverse: ~31% increase at prices between $53 and $77. The stock currently trades at $36.36. Last five quarters have seen a combined ~23% reduction at prices between $40 and $81.Note 1: Paulson controls ~7.2% of the business.Note 2: MNK, a July 2013 spinoff from Covidien plc started trading at around $42. Covidien plc in turn was acquired by Medtronic (MDT) in January 2015.Time Warner Inc. (TWX: TWX is a ~4% of the portfolio merger-arbitrage stake purchased in Q4 2016. AT&T (T) reached a deal last October to acquire Time Warner in a $107.50 half-cash half-stock deal. The stock currently trades at $102. There was marginal trimming this quarter.American International Group (AIG): AIG is a ~3.5% of the US long portfolio stake established in Q1 2015 at prices between $49 and $56. Q4 2015 saw a ~20% reduction at prices between $57 and $64 and the following quarter saw another ~20% reduction at prices between $49 and $58. There was a ~50% further selling in Q4 2016 at prices between $57 and $67 and that was followed with minor trimming in the last two quarters. The stock currently trades at $61.67.Teva Pharmaceuticals (TEVA): TEVA was a very small 0.55% of the US long portfolio stake established in Q2 2015 at prices between $59 and $67. It was increased to a fairly large 5.28% position the following quarter at prices between $55 and $72. Q2 2016 saw a ~19% reduction at prices between $48.50 and $57 and that was followed with a ~30% selling last quarter at prices between $32 and $38. There was another ~40% reduction this quarter at prices between $27.50 and $33. The stock is now at $17.10 and the stake is at ~3%.Realogy Holdings (RLGY): RLGY is a 1.76% of the US long portfolio position that was reduced by two-thirds over the six quarters thru Q2 2016 at prices between $28 and $49. The original investment was made prior to the October 2012 IPO. The stock currently trades at $34.02. There was a ~16% trimming this quarter at prices between $28 and $32.50.Novagold (NG): NG is a small 1.36% 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. The stock is currently at $4.09. There was marginal trimming in the last two quarters.Note: Paulson has a high cost-basis on NG and controls ~7% of the business.Endo International plc (ENDP): A very small ENDP stake was increased by almost 200% in Q1 2016 at prices between $28 and $61. Q2 & Q3 2016 had seen a combined ~18% reduction at prices between $17 and $43. The stock is now at $8.63 and the stake is at ~1% of the portfolio. There was a ~9% trimming this quarter.International Seaways (INSW): INSW is a spinoff from Overseas Shipholding Group (OSG) that started regular-way trading in December last year at ~$15 per share. It is now at $18.55. There was ~6% trimming this quarter at ~$20.Note: Paulson controls ~12% of International Seaways.Office Depot (ODP): ODP is a very small ~1% stake. It was doubled in Q2 2016 at prices between $3 and $8. The stock is now at $4.09. Last quarter saw a minor ~7% trimming and that was followed with a ~12% reduction this quarter.Note: In May 2016, a merger deal with Staples (SPLS) was scuttled by a federal judge.Extended Stay America (STAY): STAY is now a very small 0.47% of the US long portfolio position. The stake came about as a result of the firms IPO in November 2013. STAY currently trades at $18.46 compared to the IPO offering price of $20.  Q4 2015 had seen a ~11% trimming at prices between $16 and $19 and that was followed with another ~12% reduction in Q3 2016 at ~$14. There was a ~25% reduction in Q4 2016 at prices between $13 and $17 and that was followed with a ~30% selling last quarter at $17.81. The position was reduced by ~90% this quarter at prices between $15.76 and $19.80. Paulson harvested long-term gains.Note: Extended Stay America filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy on June 16, 2009 and an investment group consisting of Paulson & Company, Blackstone Group, and Centerbridge Partners bought Extended Stay America out of bankruptcy in October 2010. At the time of the 11/2013 IPO, the firms already made more than three times their investment.Alexion Pharmaceuticals (ALXN) & Calls: The very small 0.86% ALXN stake saw a ~250% increase last quarter at prices between $118 and $145. The position was reduced by ~80% this quarter at prices between $98 and $133. It is now at $135.Brookdale Senior Living (BKD), Loxo Encology (LOXO), Oasis Petroleum (OAS), and TIM Participacoes (TSU): These are very small (less than ~1% of the portfolio each) stakes that were further reduced this quarter.Stake Increases:Valeant Pharmaceuticals (VRX): VRX 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 another ~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. The stock currently trades at $14.34 and the stake is at 5.11% (top five) of the portfolio. This quarter also saw a ~13% increase.Note: Paulson controls 6.3% of Valeant Pharmaceuticals. There was a ~1M share reduction after the quarter ended at $14.66.T-Mobile US (TMUS) & Dish Network (DISH): These are fairly large stakes established last quarter and increased substantially this quarter. The ~5% portfolio stake in TMUS was purchased at prices between $56.60 and $65 and increased by ~46% this quarter at prices between $60 and $68. The stock is at $62.99. DISH is a 3.4% portfolio position established at prices between $58 and $64 and increased by ~16% this quarter at prices between $58 and $66. The stock currently goes for $56.94.NXP Semiconductors (NXPI): NXPI stake saw a ~200% increase last quarter to a 1.56% portfolio position at prices between $96 and $104. There was a ~6% further increase this quarter. It is now at ~$112.Note: NXPI is a merger-arbitrage stake. It is getting acquired by Qualcomm (QCOM) for $110 per share cash.Kept Steady:SPDR Gold Trust (GLD): GLD was Paulsons largest position by far at ~19% of the US long portfolio as of Q1 2013. The original stake 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. The stock currently trades at ~$123. Q4 2016 saw a ~9% trimming. The remaining stake is still a top five stake at ~7% of the portfolio.Caesars Acquisition (CACQ) and Caesars Entertainment (CZR): Paulson has significant ~10% ownership stakes in each of CACQ and CZR. Q3 2016 had seen minor trimming.AngloGold Ashanti (AU): AU is a 1.68% 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 further one-third reduction at prices between $7 and $14. Q2 2016 saw another ~20% reduction at prices between $13 and $18. The stock currently trades at $9.83.Note: Paulson controls ~3% of AngloGold Ashanti.Synergy Pharmaceuticals (SGYP): The 1.45% SGYP position saw a ~150% increase in Q2 2016 at prices between $2.50 and $4. There was a ~13% reduction in the following quarter at ~$5.60 and the stock currently trades at $2.90. There was a marginal reduction in Q4 2016.Note: Paulson controls ~13% of the business. There was very minor trimming after the quarter ended at $3.77.Bank of America (BAC) warrants, Randgold Resources (GOLD), and William Lyon Homes (WLH): These are very small (less than ~1% of the portfolio each) stakes kept steady this quarter.Although the relative position sizes are minute, the following 13F stakes are significant as Paulson has sizable ownership: Cobalt International Energy (CIE), Enzymotec Ltd. (ENZY), International Tower Hill Mines (THM), and Trilogy Metals (TMQ).The spreadsheet below highlights changes to Paulsons US stock holdings in Q2 2017:Regulatory Filings thru 5/19/2017: 13D/A & Form 4s on 5/5 - STAY & ESH Hospitality (paired trades) - 10.25M disposed at $17.23, 9.84M shares remain - 5.1%. 13D/A & Forms 4s on 3/14 - STAY & ESH Hospitality (paired trades) - 20.9M shares - 10.3%, 8.53M shares sold at $16.7. Trades connected to two secondary offering aggregating 25M shares & 30M shares."