"Tracking George Soros’s Portfolio – Q2 2019 Update"
"Soros' 13F portfolio value decreased from $4.31B to $4.27B this quarter. The number of positions decreased from 169 to 151.Soros added Alphabet while dropping Ceridian HCM, Coupa Software, and Salesforce.com.Liberty Broadband at ~18% of the portfolio is the largest individual stock 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 08/14/2019. Please visit our  for an idea on his investment philosophy and our  for the fund’s moves during Q1 2019.Soros Fund Management invests globally and the long positions in the US market reported in the 13F filings represent ~15% of the overall portfolio. The 13F portfolio value decreased ~3% this quarter from $4.31B to $4.27B. The number of positions decreased from 169 to 151. Very small stock positions and large debt holdings together account for ~24% 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, VICI Properties, and Caesars Entertainment. To learn about Soros’ distinct trading style and philosophy, check out his “” and other works.New stakes:Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ): The large 5.1% of the portfolio QQQ stake was established this quarter at prices between $170 and $191 and it currently trades at $185.Alphabet Inc. (GOOG): GOOG is a 1.67% of the portfolio position purchased this quarter at prices between $1036 and $1288 and the stock is now at $1171.Note: Alphabet is a frequently traded stock in Soros’ portfolio.eBay Inc. (EBAY), Symantec Corp (SYMC), and Vulcan Materials (VMC): These are small (less than ~1% of the portfolio each) new stakes established this quarter. The ~1% EBAY position was purchased at prices between $35.50 and $40 and the stock currently trades at the top end of that range at ~$40. SYMC is a 0.94% portfolio stake established at prices between $18 and $24.50 and it is now at $22.95. The 0.74% VMC position was purchased at prices between $119 and $137 and it currently goes for ~$140.Stake Disposals:Ceridian HCM Holding (CDAY): The 1.96% CDAY stake was purchased last quarter at prices between $33 and $51. It was disposed this quarter at prices between $47 and $53. The stock currently trades at $57.22.Coupa Software (COUP): The 1.26% COUP stake was established in Q2 2018 at prices between $44.50 and $64.50 and increased by ~14% next quarter at prices between $61 and $81. Q4 2018 also saw a ~7% stake increase. This quarter saw the position sold at prices between $90 and $131. It is now at ~$140. Soros realized gains.T-Mobile US (TMUS): The ~1% TMUS position was increased by ~800% in Q4 2018 at prices between $61 and $70. Last quarter also saw a ~12% further increase. The disposal this quarter was at prices between $69 and $78. The stock currently trades at ~$77.Adobe (ADBE), Altice USA (ATUS), Comcast Corp (CMCSA), Intuit Inc. (INTU), Lions Gate Entertainment (LGF.A), Marvell Technology (MRVL), RingCentral Inc. (RING), Salesforce.com (CRM), Sirius XM (SIRI), Valero Energy (VLO), Viacom (VIAB), and World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE): These small (less than ~1.5% of the portfolio each) stakes were eliminated this quarter.Stake Increases: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 9.84% of the portfolio position (~7% of the business) 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 $21.80. This quarter saw a ~5% stake increase.SPDR S&P 500 (SPY) Calls & Puts: The net short position thru SPY Calls & Puts is now at ~7% of the portfolio. Most of it was established over the last two quarters as SPY traded between $234 and $292 last quarter. It is currently at ~$289. This quarter saw the Puts increased and the Calls decreased with the overall position remaining about the same.Altaba Inc. (AABA) previously Yahoo: AABA is a fairly large (top five) ~4% portfolio position established in Q2 2017 at prices between $46 and $56 and increased by ~10% the following quarter at prices between $54.50 and $67.50. The stock is now above those ranges at $69.51. Last four quarters had seen minor trimming while this quarter there was a ~5% increase.Red Hat Inc. (RHT) and Energizer Holdings (ENR): These two positions purchased in Q4 2018 saw significant buying over the last two quarters. RHT was a merger-arbitrage stake: IBM (IBM) bought Red Hat for $190 per share cash and the transaction closed last month. ENR is a 0.75% stake purchased at prices between $43 and $62 and increased by ~55% last quarter at prices between $44 and $49. It is now below those ranges at $36.49. This quarter also saw a ~3% stake increase.Walt Disney (DIS): DIS is a ~1% position purchased in Q3 2018 at prices between $104 and $117 and reduced by ~40% next quarter at prices between $100 and $119. It is now at ~$137. There was a ~75% stake increase this quarter at prices between $112 and $143.Archer Daniels Midland (ADM): The ADM position was established in Q3 2018 at prices between $45 and $51 and reduced by ~45% next quarter at prices between $39.50 and $52. There was an about turn last quarter: stake more than doubled at prices between $40.50 and $45. That was followed with a ~20% stake increase this quarter at prices between $38.25 and $44.60. It is currently just below those ranges at $37.57 and the position is at 0.81% of the portfolio.UnitedHealth Group (UNH): UNH is a 0.66% UNH stake which was doubled in Q4 2018 at prices between $233 and $286. It was sold down by ~60% last quarter at prices between $236 and $271. This quarter saw a ~230% stake increase at prices between $217 and $250. It is now at ~$227.D R Horton (DHI) and Celgene Corp (CELG): These two positions were built over the last two quarters. The 1.66% DHI stake was established last quarter at prices between $35 and $47 and increased by ~70% this quarter at prices between $42 and $47. The stock currently trades above those ranges at $49. CELG is a 1.77% merger-arbitrage stake. Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY) is buying Celgene in a cash-and-stock deal ($50 cash, one share of BMY, and a tradeable CVR with a one-time potential payment of $9 in 2021 for each share of CELG held) announced in January. CELG is currently at $97.49 and BMY at $48.66.Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ) Calls, E*Trade Financial (ETFC), Keurig Dr. Pepper (KDP), Morgan Stanley (MSN), and Synchrony Financial (SYF): These very small (less than ~0.70% of the portfolio each) stakes were increased during the quarter.Stake Decreases:Liberty Broadband (LBRDK): LBRDK is the largest individual stock position by far at 17.69% of the portfolio. The stake was established in Q2 2016 at prices between $55 and $60.50. The stock is now well above that range at ~$103.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. Last two quarters have seen the position sold down by ~45% at prices between $6.75 and $12. The stock currently trades at $11.43.Note: 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.LPL Financial (LPLA): The bulk of the ~1% of the portfolio stake in LPLA was purchased in Q2 2018 at prices between $57 and $71 and the stock currently trades above that range at ~$72. There have only been minor adjustments since.iShares Russell 1000 ETF (IWB): IWB is a ~1% long position purchased in Q4 2018 at prices between $130 and $162 and increased by ~45% last quarter at prices between $135 and $159. This quarter saw a ~35% selling at prices between $153 and $164. The stock is now at $160.Conagra Foods (CAG): The 0.71% CAG position was established as a result of the merger with Pinnacle Foods. Soros had a position in Pinnacle Foods for which he received CAG shares in the ration 1:0.6494. The stake was increased by two-thirds last quarter at prices between $21 and $28 and the stock is now just above that range at $28.45. This quarter saw a ~38% reduction at prices between $25.50 and $31.30.GCI Liberty (GLIBA) and McCormick (MKC): These two positions saw large increases over the last two quarters but were reduced this quarter. The GLIBA position was increased by ~45% in Q4 2018 and another ~25% last quarter at prices between $40 and $57. This quarter saw the position almost sold out at prices between $56 and $62. The stock currently trades at $61.03. MKC position saw a ~250% increase in Q4 2018 at prices between $132 and $152. The stake was increased by another ~18% last quarter while this quarter there was a one-third selling at prices between $150 and $158. It currently trades at ~$164.First Data Corp (FDC): FDC was a small 0.52% of the portfolio merger-arbitrage stake established last quarter. In January, Fiserv (FISV) agreed to acquire FDC in an all-stock merger (0.303 shares of FISV for each FDC held) that closed last month. FISV shares has been on a roll and has returned over 50% YTD.Kept Steady:Mondelez Intl. (MDLZ): The 1.47% MDLZ stake had seen a ~140% increase in Q4 2018 at prices between $39.50 and $45. It saw a ~8% trimming last quarter. The stock currently trades well above that range at $54.88.Grifols S A (GRFS): The ~1% portfolio stake in GRFS was acquired last quarter at prices between $17.50 and $21 and the stock currently trades at $21.35.JPMorgan Chase (JPM): The 0.55% JPM stake was acquired in Q1 2018 at prices between $107 and $119. Q3 2018 saw the position reduced by ~60% at prices between $104 and $119. It currently trades at ~$107. Q4 2018 also saw a ~20% selling.SPDR Financial (XLF), SPDR Oil & Gas Exploration (XOP) & Calls, and Viper Energy Partners LP (VNOM): These very small positions (less than ~0.70% of the portfolio each) were kept steady this quarter.The spreadsheet below highlights Soros’s significantly large 13F positions as of Q2 2019:Regulatory Filings thru 5/18/2019: None."