"Tracking Stephen Mandel’s Lone Pine Capital Portfolio – Q1 2016 Update"
"Stephen Mandel’s 13F portfolio decreased from $23.40B to $20.10B. The number of positions decreased from 47 to 40.Lone Pine Capital added Allergan plc, Baxalta, and PayPal while dropping Walgreens Boots Alliance and Williams Companies.The top three individual stocks are Microsoft, Facebook, & Amazon and they add up to ~19 % of the portfolio.This article is part of a series that provides an ongoing analysis of the changes made to Stephen Mandel’s US stock portfolio on a quarterly basis. It is based on Mandel’s regulatory  filed on 05/16/2016. Please visit our  article for an idea on his investment philosophy and our  for the fund’s moves during Q4 2015.This quarter, Mandel’s US long portfolio decreased 14.10% from $23.40B to $20.10B. The number of holdings decreased from 47 to 40. The top three individual stock positions are at 19.43% while the top five are at 29.84% of the US long assets: Microsoft Corporation, Facebook Inc., Amazon.com, Alphabet Inc., and Priceline Inc.Mandel worked at Tiger Management under Julian Robertson for eight years starting in the late 1980s, making him a bona fide tiger cub. To know more about Julian Robertson and his legendary Tiger Management, check out .Stake Disposals:Valeant Pharmaceuticals (VRX): VRX was the second-largest 13F stake at 5.42% of the US long portfolio as of Q3 2015. That quarter had seen a ~40% increase at prices between $158 and $263. Last quarter saw an about turn: ~22% reduction at prices between $70 and $182 and that was followed with the elimination this quarter at prices between $27 and $102. The position was first purchased in 2013 at prices between $60 and $90. The stock is now at $26.13.Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) & Calls: WBA was a 2.47% position as of last quarter. It was first purchased in Q4 2014. Q2 2015 saw a stake doubling at prices between $83 and $89 and that was followed with a roughly one-third increase the following quarter at prices between $81 and $97. The stock was sold this quarter at prices between $72.91 and $85.16. It is now at $77.15.Williams Companies (WMB) & Calls: The 3.18% WMB position was established in Q1 2015 at prices between $40.94 and $60.86. The stake saw a ~64% increase last quarter at prices between $21.54 and $43.83. This quarter saw an about turn: sold out at prices between $11.16 and $26.33. The stock currently trades at $22.12.Activision Blizzard (ATVI), Autodesk Inc. (ADSK), CSX Corporation (CSX), Express Scripts (ESRX), Fidelity National Financial (FNF) & Calls, Hanesbrands Inc. (HBI), and Molson Coors Brewers (TAP): These are very small positions (less than ~1.5% of the portfolio each) eliminated this quarter. ADSK & ESRX stakes were newly acquired last quarter.New Stakes:Allergan plc (AGN): AGN is a 2.39% of the US long portfolio position established this quarter at prices between $266 and $313 and the stock currently trades well below that range at $229.Note: Allergan had a previous roundtrip in the portfolio. It was a 2.89% of the US long portfolio position as of Q3 2015. That position was established in Q1 2015 at prices between $255 and $317 and increased by ~25% the following quarter at prices between $283 and $313. The entire stake was sold last quarter at prices between $253 and $323.Baxalta Inc. (BXLT): BXLT is a 2.13% of the portfolio merger arbitrage stake purchased this quarter at prices between $36.46 and $41.80 and the stock is now at $44.99. In January, Shire plc (SHPG) agreed to acquire BXLT in a cash-and-stock deal valued at $45.57.PayPal Holdings (PYPL): PYPL is a ~2% of the portfolio position established this quarter at prices between $31.20 and $41.32. The stock is now at $38.92.Commscope Holding (COMM), Monster Beverage (MNST), and Yum Brands (YUM): These are very small (less than ~1% of the portfolio each) stakes purchased this quarter.Stake Decreases:Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN): AMZN is a top three 5.87% of the portfolio position purchased in Q3 2015 at prices between $430 and $548 and increased by ~14% last quarter at prices between $512 and $694. The stock is now at $704. This quarter saw a ~10% trimming.Charter Communications (CHTR) & Calls: The 4.62% CHTR position was first purchased in Q3 2014 at prices between $152 and $164 and the following quarters also saw minor buying. Q2 2015 saw a whopping ~150% increase at prices between $168 and $193. Last quarter saw an about turn: ~50% reduction at prices between $175 and $193. This quarter also saw marginal trimming. The stock is currently at $228.Dollar Tree (DLTR): DLTR is a fairly large 4.76% of the portfolio position. It was established in Q3 2015 at prices between $65 and $82 and increased by ~156% last quarter at prices between $61 and $80. The stock currently trades at $77.53. This quarter saw a ~12% trimming.Note: Lone Pine Capital controls ~5% of DLTR.Electronic Arts (EA): EA is a 0.63% of the portfolio position established in Q2 2015 and increased by just over 10-times the following quarter at prices between $63 and $75. Last quarter saw a ~27% reduction at prices between $65 and $77 and that was followed with another ~70% reduction this quarter at prices between $55.50 and $70.83. The stock currently trades at $75.35.FleetCor Technologies (FLT): The 4.37% FLT stake is from 2013 - Mandel is sitting on large gains on this position. Q3 2015 saw a ~17% increase at prices between $138 and $164. It currently trades at $149. This quarter saw minor trimming.Note: Lone Pine Capital controls 6.4% of FleetCor Technologies.Illumina Inc. (ILMN): ILMN is a 1.35% of the US long portfolio stake. It was purchased in Q1 2015 at prices between $181 and $203 and almost doubled the following quarter at prices between $182 and $221. Q3 2015 saw a ~36% reduction at prices between $168 and $240 and that was followed with a ~54% reduction this quarter at prices between $135 and $192. The stock currently trades at $144.JD.com Inc. (JD): JD is a 2.91% of the portfolio position purchased in Q4 2014 and Q1 2015 at prices between $23 and $30. Last quarter saw a ~38% reduction at prices between $25.52 and $32.65and that was followed with a ~18% selling this quarter at prices between $22.88 and $32.27. The stock is now at $23.79.MasterCard Inc. (MA): The 2.39% MA stake was established in Q3 2013 at prices between $59 and $69 and increased by ~30% the following quarter at prices between $67 and $83. Q1 2014 saw some selling but the following three quarters saw a huge ~200% increase at prices between $69 and $89. 2015 saw a combined ~70% reduction at prices between $82 and $102. This quarter saw a ~18% further reduction at prices between $80.65 and $97.36. The stock is currently at $96.48. Mandel is harvesting gains.Microsoft Corporation (MSFT): MSFT is the largest 13F position at 7.08% of the portfolio. Around 27M shares were purchased in Q4 2013 at prices between $34 and $38. Q4 2014 saw a huge ~75% reduction at prices between $43 and $50. The position was built back up to ~29.4M shares over the first two quarters of 2015 at prices between $40.40 and $47.59. Q3 2015 saw a ~11% trimming while last two quarters have seen a combined ~9% further trimming. The stock currently trades at $51.59.Priceline Inc. (PCLN): PCLN is a large (top five) 5.08% long-term stake first purchased in 2011 at a cost-basis of ~$500. The original position was sold down by ~44% in Q3 2013 at prices between $900 and $1030 and another two-thirds in Q1 2014 at prices between $1132 and $1358. There was a combined ~380% increase over the next three quarters at prices between $1064 and $1280. 2015 saw a combined ~40% reduction at prices between $1008 and $1454. The stock is now at $1257. Lone Pine is harvesting gains from this position. This quarter saw a ~5% trimming.Ulta Salon (ULTA): ULTA is a 3.24% stake first purchased in 2012 at much lower prices. Last quarter saw a ~40% increase at prices between $153 and $173. Mandel is sitting on huge gains. The stock is now at $207. Last quarter saw a ~9% increase while this quarter saw a ~6% trimming.Note: Lone Pine Capital controls 5.4% of Ulta Salon.Visa Inc. (V): V is a 2.85% stake purchased in Q4 2014 and Q1 2015 at prices between $51 and $68 and increased by ~31% last quarter at prices between $70 and $80. This quarter saw a ~41% selling at prices between $67.77 and $77.55. The stock currently trades at $79.38.American Express (AXP) & Calls, Arista Networks (ANET), Diageo plc (DEO), Horizon Pharma plc (HZNP), Lululemon Athletica (LULU), Mohawk Industries (MHK), Pioneer Natural Resources (PXD), Proshares Ultra VIX Short Term Puts, and TransDigm Group (TDG): These are very small (less than ~2% of the portfolio each) stakes decreased this quarter.Note: Lone Pine Capital controls ~4% of LULU and ~4% of TransDigm Group.Stake Increases:Adobe Systems (ADBE): ADBE is a 2.37% of the US long portfolio position. It was first purchased in Q1 2014 and almost doubled the following quarter at prices between $60 and $73. Q2 2015 saw a ~23% reduction at prices between $73 and $84 and that was followed with a one-third reduction the following quarter at prices between $74 and $87. Last quarter saw another ~35% reduction at prices between $80.65 and $95.56. This quarter saw an about turn: ~26% increase at prices between $73.85 and $93.78. The stock currently trades at $99.63.Alphabet Inc. (GOOG) (GOOGL) previously Google: The large (top five) 5.34% of the portfolio stake in GOOG was established last quarter at prices between $608 and $777 and increased by ~74% this quarter at prices between $678 and $765. The stock currently trades at $720.Cheniere Energy (LNG): LNG is a 2.17% of the portfolio position first purchased in Q3 2014 at prices between $70 and $84. The following quarter saw a ~28% increase at prices between $64.88 and $77.33. There was another ~54% increase in Q3 2015 at prices between $47.47 and $70.65. The stock is now well below those ranges at $32.84. For investors attempting to follow Lone Pine Capital, LNG is a good option to consider for further research. Last two quarters saw marginal increases.Note: Lone Pine Capital controls ~5% of the business. LNG is very popular among super investors: Seth Klarman (Baupost Group), Carl Icahn, and John Griffin (Blue Ridge Capital) have large stakes.Constellation Brands (STZ): STZ is a fairly large 4.43% stake established in Q3 2015 at prices between $115 and $131 and increased by ~14% last quarter at prices between $125 and $145. The stock is now outside those ranges at $158. This quarter also saw a ~10% further increase.Equinix Inc. (EQIX): EQIX is a medium-sized 3.82% portfolio stake. It is a long-term position first purchased in 2010. Around 4M shares were acquired at the time at a cost-basis in the low-80s. The position size has wavered since although by Q4 2014 the stake was back at ~4M shares. Q1 2015 saw a ~30% reduction at prices between $217 and $239. Last quarter saw another ~20% reduction at prices between $265 and $305. The stock is now at $355. This quarter saw a ~10% increase.Note: Lone Pine Capital controls ~3.3% of Equinix.Facebook Inc. (FB): The top-three 6.48% FB stake was purchased in Q3 2014 at prices between $66.34 and $78.79. Q2 2015 saw a ~20% increase at prices between $77.46 and $88.86 and that was followed with a ~10% increase the following quarter at prices between $82 and $98. This quarter saw another ~17% increase at prices between $94 and $116. The stock currently trades at $118.Note: FB has seen a previous presence in the portfolio. Around 11M shares were purchased in Q4 2012 at prices between $19 and $29. The stake was disposed of in 2013 and early 2014 at much higher prices, realizing huge gains.Nike Inc. (NKE): The 3.67% NKE stake was purchased in Q1 2015 at prices between $46 and $55 and decreased by ~20% in Q3 2015 at prices between $52 and $63. The stake was doubled last quarter at prices between $61 and $68. It is now at $56.57. This quarter saw a minor ~4% further increase.Note: The prices quoted above are adjusted for the 2-for-1 stock split in November 2015.Northrop Grumman (NOC): NOC is a medium-sized 3.20% of the portfolio stake. It was purchased last quarter at prices between $166 and $192 and increased by ~50% this quarter at prices between $178 and $199. The stock is now at $215.Anheuser Busch Inbev (BUD) and Vulcan Materials (VMC): These are very small (less than ~1.5% of the portfolio each) stakes that saw increases this quarter.Kept Steady:Barclays Bank plc (BCS) Puts, HDFC Bank (HDB), and Sears Holdings (SHLD) Puts: These small positions (less than ~2% of the portfolio each) were left untouched this quarter.The spreadsheet below highlights changes to Mandel’s US stock holdings in Q1 2016:"