"Tracking John Paulson’s Paulson & Company Portfolio – Q4 2021 Update"
"John Paulson’s 13F portfolio value decreased from $3.51B to $3.24B this quarter.Paulson & Company increased Pacira Biosciences and SSR mining while reducing Brightsphere Investment Group and Thryv Holdings.The top three positions are at 49% of the portfolio.This article is part of a series that provides an ongoing analysis of the changes made to John Paulson’s 13F stock portfolio on a quarterly basis. It is based on Paulson’s regulatory  filed on 2/14/2022. Please visit our  to get an idea of his investment philosophy and our  for the fund’s moves during Q3 2021.This quarter, Paulson’s 13F portfolio value decreased ~8% from $3.51B to $3.24B. There are 36 13F securities in the portfolio although only 31 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 AngloGold Ashanti and they add up to ~58% 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 “”. In July 2020, Paulson announced that they are returning all outside money and are converting to a Family Office structure.Note 1: Last August, 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.New Stakes:Cerner Corporation (CERN): CERN is a 1.36% of the portfolio merger-arbitrage stake established this quarter. Oracle is buying Cerner in a $95 per share all-cash deal announced in December. The stock currently trades at $93.41.Stake Disposals:Cloudera Inc. : Cloudera was a ~2% of the portfolio merger-arbitrage stake. Cloudera was acquired in a $16 per share all-cash PE deal announced in June. The transaction closed in October.Pretium Resources (PVG): PVG was a very small 0.66% of the portfolio stake purchased in Q4 2019 at prices between $8.70 and $12.50 and the stock currently trades at $14.73. The disposal this quarter was at prices between $9.50 and $14.60. Newcrest mining is acquiring Pretium for C$18.50 per share deal announced in November.Viatris (VTRS) previously Mylan: 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 last quarter at prices between ~$13 and ~$16.15. Last quarter saw another similar reduction at prices between ~$13.25 and ~$15. The elimination this quarter was at prices between ~$12 and ~$14.70. The stock currently trades at $10.48.Kansas City Southern: The very small 0.23% stake in KSU was eliminated as Canadian Pacific’s (CP) acquisition of Kansas City Southern closed in December.Stake Decreases:Horizon Therapeutics (HZNP): HZNP is currently the second-largest position at ~20% 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. Last quarter saw a ~23% reduction at prices between ~$92 and ~$110. The stock is now at $98.31. This quarter also saw a ~3% trimming.BrightSphere Investment Group (BSIG): The large (top three) ~7% 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. There was a ~55% reduction this quarter at ~$31.50 per share as they participated in a fixed-tender-offer by the company. The stock currently trades at $24.37.Note: Paulson’s ownership stake in BSIG is ~20%.Thryv Holdings (THRY) previously Dex Media: The 2.71% THRY stake was established in Q4 2020 at prices between ~$8 and ~$14. Q1 2021 saw a ~12% trimming at $27 per share. Last two quarters have seen another ~25% selling at prices between ~$27 and ~$41.50. The stock currently trades at $29.04. Paulson & Company has a 6.3% ownership stake in the business.Didi Global (DIDI): DIDI had an IPO last June. Shares started trading at ~$14 and currently goes for ~$4. Paulson’s 1.83% of the portfolio position goes back to investments made in the 2016-2018 timeframe. Last quarter saw a ~15% stake increase at prices between ~$7.20 and ~$16.40. while this quarter there was a ~6% trimming.Stake Increases:Pacira Biosciences (PCRX): The ~3% PCRX stake was built in Q2 & Q3 2019 at prices between $35.50 and $48. There was a ~25% reduction in Q2 2020 at prices between $31 and $53. This quarter saw a ~35% stake increase at prices between ~$48 and ~$62. The stock is now at $71.28.SSR Mining Inc. (SSR): The 1.70% of the portfolio stake in SSR saw a ~140% stake increase this quarter at prices between ~$14.50 and ~$20. The stock currently trades at $20.58.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 $24.17, and the stake has become the largest position in the portfolio at 22%.NovaGold Resources (NG): NG is a 4.70% 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 $7.29.Note: Paulson has a high cost-basis on NG and controls ~7% of the business.AngloGold Ashanti (AU): AU is a 3.86% 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 ~$24.Perpetua Resources (PPTA): The fairly large 3.63% PPTA stake was purchased in Q4 2020 at prices between ~$6 and ~$11 and the stock currently trades at ~$4. There was a ~18% stake increase last quarter at prices between ~$4.75 and ~$7.70.Note: Paulson & Company has a one-third ownership stake in the business.Occidental Petroleum (OXY): OXY is a 3.35% stake that saw a ~150% increase in Q1 2021 at prices between ~$17.50 and ~$31.25. Next quarter saw another two-thirds increase at prices between ~$23.20 and ~$32.90. There was a ~25% selling last quarter at prices between ~$22 and ~$33. The stock is now at $48.37.Barrick Gold (GOLD) and Seabridge Gold (SA): The 2.66% GOLD stake saw a ~130% stake increase in Q4 2020 at prices between ~$22.50 and ~$29.50. There was a ~50% stake increase in Q2 2021 at prices between ~$19.80 and ~$25.30. The stock is now at $23.15. The small ~1% SA position saw a ~125% increase in Q4 2020 at prices between ~$17 and ~$21. There was a roughly one-third increase in Q2 2021 at prices between ~$16.15 and ~$19.75. It currently trades at $17.90.APA Corporation (APA) and Shell plc (SHEL): These two positions were purchased in Q2 2021. The 2.49% APA stake was purchased at prices between ~$17 and ~$23.50 and it is now at $37.87. Last quarter saw a ~25% selling at prices between ~$16 and ~$23. SHEL is a 1.34% of the portfolio position established at prices between ~$37.75 and ~$42.35. The stake was reduced by ~50% last quarter at prices between ~$37 and ~$45. It now goes for $54.62.Exxon Mobil (XOM): XOM is a small 2.12% stake built over the two quarters through Q1 2021 at prices between ~$32 and ~$62. Q2 2021 saw a ~50% stake increase at prices between ~$55 and ~$65. There was a ~25% selling last quarter at prices between ~$53 and ~$63. The stock is now at $80.53.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 $2.27. The stake had wavered over the years.Note: Their ownership stake in the business is ~7.4%.International Tower Hill Mines (THM): THM is a 1.31% 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 ~$1.Note: Paulson has a ~32% ownership stake in International Tower Hill Mines.Tim SA (TIMB): The 1.40% TIMB stake was primarily built in Q1 2021 at prices between ~$11 and ~$14. It currently trades at $13.04.Bally’s Corporation (BALY), BP plc (BP), Kirkland Lake Gold, Newmark Group (NMRK), Total Energies SE (TTE), Trilogy Metals (TMQ), and Vaneck Vectors Oil Services ETF (OIH): These very small (less than ~1% of the portfolio each) positions were kept steady this quarter.Note 1: Agnico Eagle Mines (AEM) acquired Kirkland Lake Gold in an all-stock transaction (0.7935 shares of AEM for each share held) that closed last month.Note 2: 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 Paulson’s US stock holdings in Q4 2021:Source: John Vincent. Data constructed from Paulson & Company’s 13F filings for Q3 2021 and Q4 2021.Regulatory filings from 9/8/2021 to 11/24/2021: 13D – 11/5 – BSIG – 20M shares – 25.1% of business."