"Tracking David Tepper’s Appaloosa Management Portfolio – Q4 2014 Update"
"David Tepper’s US long equity portfolio decreased ~40% from $6.79B to $4.05B this quarter.The vast majority of positions were reduced or eliminated in the quarter.Large stake eliminations include Citigroup, Facebook, and Halliburton while reductions include American Airlines and Delta Air Lines.This article is part of a series that provides an ongoing analysis of the changes made to David Tepper’s US stock portfolio on a quarterly basis. It is based on Appaloosa Management’s regulatory  filed on 02/13/2015. Please visit our  to get an idea of his investment philosophy and our  for the fund’s moves during Q3 2014.This quarter, Tepper’s US long equity portfolio decreased 40% from $6.79B to $4.05B. David Tepper took a cautious stance toward US markets in May 2014 but more recently stated that the US market of 2014 had similarities to 1998. The numbers of holdings decreased from 42 to 28 as around one-third of his positions were eliminated. There were two minor additions as well: American Realty Capital Properties and HD Supply Holdings. The top-five positions are General Motors (12.65%), Google Inc. (11.34%), HCA Holdings (9.08%), Priceline Group (8.92%), and Whirlpool Corp. (8.13%). Combined, they account for 50% of the entire 13F holdings - Tepper’s US long portfolio has become more concentrated as that percentage was at just over 34% last quarter.New Stakes:American Realty Capital Properties (ARCP): ARCP is a very small 0.65% of the US long portfolio stake established at prices between $7.70 and $12.48 and the stock currently trades at $9.40.Stake Disposals:Alibaba Group Holdings (BABA): BABA was a very small 0.95% of the US long portfolio stake established last quarter at prices between $86.10 and $93.89 and disposed of this quarter at prices between $84.95 and $119. The stock currently trades at $89.05.Apple Inc. (AAPL): AAPL became a significant presence in the portfolio after 2011. In Q1 2012, around 3.5M shares (split-adjusted) were purchased at prices between $60 and $87 and the stake represented around 10% of the US long portfolio at the time. The next quarter saw some selling at prices between $76 and $91. In Q4 2012, another 2.8M shares were purchased at prices between $73 and $94. The stock was consistently sold from the next quarter onwards and by Q4 2013 the position was at 1.5M shares. Most of the selling happened in Q1 2013 and Q2 2013 at prices between $56 and $75. Q1 2014 saw a 16% stake increase at prices between $71 and $80. Last quarter, the pattern reversed again: 31% reduction at prices between $92.93 and $103. The remaining 1.72% position was eliminated this quarter at prices between $96.26 and $119. The stock currently trades at $127.CBS Corporation (CBS): CBS was a 2.25% of the US long portfolio stake that was eliminated this quarter at prices between $48.91 and $56.45. The original position was increased from a very small stake to a 0.86% position in Q1 2014 at prices between $56 and $68 and the following two quarters had seen a stake doubling at prices between $54 and $64. The stock currently trades at $59.83.Citigroup Inc. (C): C was a top-five position at 6.35% of the US long portfolio as of last quarter. The original position consisted of around 6M shares purchased in Q1 2012 at prices between $27 and $37 and another 3M shares purchased in Q2 2012 at prices between $25 and $37. Q2 2014 saw a 14% reduction at prices between $45.68 and $49.58 and last quarter saw marginal additional selling. The remaining position was eliminated this quarter at prices between $49.68 and $56.37. The stock currently trades at $51.20. Tepper realized large long-term gains from this position.Facebook Inc. (FB): FB was increased from a minutely small stake to a fairly large 3.37% of the US long portfolio position in Q2 2014 at prices between $56 and $68. This quarter, the entire stake was eliminated at prices between $72.63 and $81.45. The stock currently trades at $75.74.Ford Motor (F): The original position was a 6.5M share stake from Q1 2012 purchased at prices between $10.76 and $12.80. The stake had wavered since and by last quarter it was at 7.3M shares. The position was eliminated this quarter at prices between $13.54 and $16.01. The stock currently trades at $16.30.Halliburton Company (HAL): HAL was a 4.78% of the US long portfolio position as of last quarter. The initial stake was increased by around four times in Q1 2014 at prices between $48 and $59.50. The elimination this quarter happened at prices between $37.82 and $64.51. The stock currently trades at $44.19.PowerShares QQQ ETF (QQQ): QQQ was the second-largest position in the portfolio as of Q1 2014. The stake was reduced from around 14% to 4.66% of the US long portfolio in Q2 2014. This quarter, the position was eliminated at prices between $91.79 and $106 and it currently trades at around $107.Mohawk Industries (MHK) & Weatherford International (WFT): These were small positions (less than ~1% of the US long portfolio each) established in Q2 2014 and eliminated this quarter. MHK stake was established at prices between $130 and $141 and eliminated at prices between $125 and $158. The stock currently trades at $173. WFT stake was established at prices between $22 and $23 and eliminated at prices between $10.32 and $20.80. The stock currently trades at $12.17.Broadcom Inc. (BRCM), MGM Resorts (MGM), Schlumberger Ltd. (SLB), & Shire plc (SHPG): These are very small positions (less than ~1% of the US long portfolio) that were eliminated this quarter.Stake Increases:HD Supply Holdings ((HDS) & Terex Corporation (TEX): These are very small positions (less than ~1% stake increase each) that were marginally increased this quarter. As the position sizes are still very small, the activity does not indicate a clear bias.Stake Decreases:American Airlines (AAL): AAL was Tepper’s second-largest position at 7% of the US long portfolio as of Q2 2014. The position was established when the newly merged airline (US Airways & American Airlines) started trading in Q4 2013 - Tepper bought into US Airways in Q1 2012 at much lower prices. The stake was increased by ~23% in Q1 2014 at prices between $25 and $39 and an additional 35% in the next quarter at prices between $33.37 and $44.55. Last quarter, the pattern reversed as the position was sold down by 38% at prices between $35 and $43.86. This quarter saw an additional 40% reduction at prices between $28.58 and $53.63. The stock currently trades at $48.39 and the remaining stake is still fairly large at 5.77%.Chicago Bridge & Iron (CBI): CBI has been in the portfolio since Q2 2013. Around 1.5M shares were purchased for around $56 at that time. The stake had since been sold down to 1.23M shares (1.43% of the US long portfolio) as of Q1 2014. In Q2 2014, the position was increased by ~22% at prices between $65.51 and $87.65 and last quarter saw another ~10% increase at prices between $57.85 and $70. This quarter, the stake saw a ~18% reduction at prices between $37.78 and $57.85. The stock currently trades at $38.69.Delta Airlines (DAL):  DAL is a 3.91% stake that was increased by around 17% last quarter at prices between $35.61 and $40.93. This quarter saw a ~57% reduction at prices between $30.90 and $49.23. The stock currently trades at $44.50.General Motors (GM): GM is Appaloosa’s largest 13F position at 12.65% of the US long portfolio. Q1 2014 saw a ~60% increase at prices between $34 and $41 and the following quarter the position was increased by another two-thirds at prices between $32 and $37.This quarter saw minor selling. The bulk of the original stake was purchased in Q1 2012 and Q2 2012 at prices between $21 and $27. The stock currently trades at $37.62.Goodyear Tire & Rubber (GT): GT is a very long-term position that has been in the portfolio since before the financial crisis. In 2007, the stake stood at 2.7M shares (~5% of portfolio). The position size peaked at 22M shares in Q2 2013 when a large increase happened at prices between $12 and $15.50. Q2 2014 saw a ~7% reduction at prices between $22.67 and $28.12 and this quarter saw another ~9% reduction at prices between $19.63 and $28.66. The stock currently trades at $25.91. Tepper is harvesting large long-term gains from this position.Google Inc. (GOOG) (GOOGL): GOOG is Appaloosa’s second-largest position at 11.34% of the US long portfolio. The stake was increased by 87% in Q1 2014 at prices between $550 and $610 (split-adjusted). It was increased by 22% in Q2 2014 as well at prices between $510 and $579. This quarter saw an about-turn as around 19% of the position was sold at prices between $495 and $577. The stock currently trades at $549. GOOG has been a significant presence in the portfolio since Q1 2012. The original purchase was at prices between $290 and $325.HCA Holdings (HCA): HCA became a significant position in the portfolio in Q4 2012 when over 4M shares were purchased in the low-30s price-range.  The stake currently is at over 5M shares and is the third-largest position at 9.08% of the US long portfolio. This quarter saw minor selling. The stock has more than doubled and Tepper is sitting on large long-term gains.Huntsman Corporation (HUN): HUN is a 3.44% of the US long portfolio position that has been in the portfolio since Q1 2012. Just over 5M shares were purchased at that time for around $13 per share. The stake is now at 6.1M shares and the stock trades at $24.40. This quarter saw a 16% reduction at prices between $21.26 and $26.67.Lorillard Inc. (LO): LO is a 1.67% of the US long portfolio position established last quarter at prices between $59 and $67.22. This quarter saw a ~24% reduction at prices between $58 and $64. The stock currently trades at $67.30.Note: On July 15, 2014 Reynolds American (RAI) agreed to acquire LO in a cash-and-stock deal valued at $24B ($50.50 cash and 0.2909 in RAI stock). Shareholders approved the deal last month.Masco Corporation (MAS): The original MAS stake was almost doubled in Q2 2014 at prices between $19.54 and $22.89. Last quarter saw a ~6% reduction at prices between $20.27 and $24.44 and this quarter saw a further ~21% reduction at prices between $20.86 and $25.40. The stock currently trades at $26.45.NXP Semiconductors (NXPI): NXP is a medium-sized 4.44% of the US long portfolio position established last quarter at prices between $60.50 and $73.01. The stock currently trades at $84.79. This quarter saw a minor reduction.Owens Corning (OC): The original OC stake was established in Q1 2012 & Q2 2012 at prices between $29 and $37. This quarter saw a ~14% reduction at prices between $29 and $36.80 and the remaining stake is at 2.51%. The stock currently trades at $38.72.Priceline Group Inc. (PCLN): PCLN is a large 8.92% of the US long portfolio position established in Q1 2014 at prices between $1113 and $1370. In Q2 2014, the stake was increased by over 70% at prices between $1108 and $1292 and last quarter saw a further ~16% increase at prices between $1154 and $1309. This quarter, there was an about-turn as the position was reduced by ~14% at prices between $1040 and $1206. The stock currently trades at $1103.United Continental Holdings (UAL): The large 8.13% of the US long portfolio UAL stake saw very minor selling this quarter. The bulk of the original stake was established in Q1 2012 at prices between $18.21 and $25. The stock currently trades at $66.23. Tepper is sitting on huge long-term gains in this position.Whirlpool Corporation (WHR): The large 8.13% of the US long portfolio position was almost doubled last quarter at prices between $139 and $156. Q1 2014 had seen a 125% increase at prices between $127 and $159. This quarter saw a ~15% reduction at prices between $140 and $194. The stock currently trades at $213. Appaloosa is starting to harvest gains from this position.SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY): SPY was the largest position at 22% of the US long portfolio in Q1 2014. The stake was drastically reduced in Q2 2014 from 22% to 3.84%. This quarter, the remaining stake was almost eliminated at prices between $186 and $209. It currently trades at around $210.Axial Corporation (AXLL), Eastman Chemical (EMN), KBR Inc. (KBR), Ryland Group (RYL), & Triumph Group (TGI): These are very small positions (less than ~1% of the US long portfolio) that were reduced further this quarter.Kept Steady:None.Appaloosa’s 13F portfolio also has minutely small stakes in General Motors and Hartford Financial warrants.The spreadsheet below highlights changes to Tepper’s US stock holdings in Q4 2014:"