"Tracking David Abrams’ Abrams Capital Management Portfolio – Q2 2019 Update"
"David Abrams’ 13F portfolio value increased this quarter from $3.56B to $3.68B. The number of positions remained steady at 19.Abrams Capital Management added TransMedics Group while dropping Barnes & Noble Education.The top three positions are Celgene Corp, PG&E Corp, and Franklin Resources, and they add up to ~42% of the portfolio.This article is part of a series that provides an ongoing analysis of the changes made to David Abrams’ 13F portfolio on a quarterly basis. It is based on Abrams’ regulatory  filed on 08/09/2019. Please visit our  article for an idea on his investment philosophy and our  for the fund's moves during Q1 2019.This quarter, Abrams’ 13F portfolio value increased ~3% from $3.56B to $3.68B. The number of holdings remained steady at 19. The top three stakes are at ~42% of the 13F portfolio while the top five holdings are at ~55%. The largest position is Celgene Corp and it accounts for 16.96% of the 13F portfolio.Stake Disposals:Barnes & Noble Education Inc. (BNED): BNED was a very small ~0.50% of the portfolio stake as of last quarter. The original position came about as a result of the spinoff of BNED from Barnes & Noble in August 2015: Abrams had a position in Barnes & Noble for which he received BNED shares in the ratio 1: 0.632. The position was more than doubled since at prices between $8.50 and $15.50. Q4 2017 saw an about turn: ~25% sold at an average price of ~$8 per share. There was another ~28% selling last quarter at ~$7.25 per share and the remainder stake was disposed this quarter. The stock currently trades at $3.08.New Stakes:TransMedics Group (TMDX): TMDX is a 2.39% of the 13F portfolio stake that came about as a result of its IPO in May. Abrams was an early investor who led funding rounds going back to 2012. The stock started trading at ~$25 and currently goes for $20.48.Stake Decreases:O Reilly Automotive (ORLY): The fairly large 5.36% ORLY stake was purchased in Q3 2017 at prices between $173 and $220 and it is now at ~$378. Q4 2018 saw a minor ~3% selling and that was followed with a ~13% trimming last quarter at prices between $335 and $392. This quarter saw another ~30% selling at prices between $353 and $409. Abrams is harvesting gains.Stake Increases:Camping World Holdings (CWH): CWH is a 1.72% position purchased in Q3 2018 at prices between $19 and $27 and increased by two-thirds next quarter at prices between $11.25 and $22.50. This quarter saw a ~30% stake increase at $11 and $13 per share. The stock is now well below their purchase price ranges at $8.91. Abrams controls ~5.8% of the business.Kept Steady:Celgene Corp (CELG) and PG&E Corp (PCG): These are large stakes established last quarter and are the top two positions currently. The ~17% of the portfolio CELG stake was established at ~$90 per share and the stock is now at $95.14. It is a merger-arbitrage stake. In early January, Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY) agreed to acquire Celgene Corp in a cash-and-stock transaction (one share of BMY and $50 cash along with a CVR that could pay $9 based on achieving regulatory milestones for each share held). PCG is a ~15% position purchased at ~$7 per share and it currently goes for $18.12. PG&E share price dropped sharply in mid-January as they announced plans to file for bankruptcy. Abrams along with two other hedge funds stepped in and bought 45M shares near the lows.Franklin Resources (BEN): BEN is currently the third-largest position at 9.24% of the 13F portfolio. It was established in Q4 2015 at prices between $35 and $42 and increased by ~50% the following quarter at prices between $31.50 and $39. There was another ~25% stake increase in Q3 2018 at prices between $30 and $34.50. The stock currently trades below the low end of those ranges at $29.32.  For investors attempting to follow, BEN is a good option to consider for further research.Lithia Motors (LAD): The 7.42% LAD stake was established in Q2 2018 at prices between $95 and $105 and almost doubled next quarter at prices between $81 and $99. The stock is now at ~$129. Q4 2018 also saw a ~15% stake increase.Note: Their ownership stake in Lithia Motors is at ~10%.Willis Towers Watson plc (WLTW): WLTW is a fairly large 5.77% position purchased in Q1 2017 at prices between $117 and $133. The stock is now well above that range at ~$197. There was a ~6% trimming in Q4 2018.AMERCO (UHAL): UHAL is a 5.77% position purchased in Q4 2016 at prices between $314 and $374 and increased by ~160% the following quarter at prices between $367 and $391. There was a ~45% increase in Q2 2017 at prices between $341 and $393 and that was followed with a similar increase in H1 2018 at prices between $323 and $384. The stock is now at ~$360.Facebook (FB): FB is a 5.37% portfolio position purchased in Q4 2018 at prices between $124 and $163 and the stock currently trades at ~$188. There was a marginal stake increase last quarter.Kinder Morgan (KMI): KMI is a 4.84% of the portfolio position purchased in Q1 2018 at prices between $14.75 and $19.75 and the stock is currently at $20.37.Teva Pharmaceutical (TEVA): TEVA is currently a 4.52% of the portfolio stake. It was established in Q3 2017 at prices between $15.50 and $33.50. The stock currently trades at $7.02.Asbury Automotive (ABG): ABG is a 4.36% position established in Q3 2017 at prices between $50 and $62 and increased by ~45% in Q3 2018 at prices between $67 and $77.50. Q4 2018 saw another 20% stake increase at prices between $59 and $72. The stock currently trades at $92.56.Note: Their ownership stake in the business is ~10%.Alphabet Inc. (GOOG): GOOG is a 3.65% position purchased in Q2 2018 at prices between $1005 and $1175 and the stock is now just above that range at $1188.Pacific Drilling SA (PACD): The 2.54% PACD stake got established in Q4 2018 as the company emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy last November. The stock is now at $5.04. Abrams Capital’s ownership stake in Pacific Drilling is ~10%. They had ~$200M in Pacific Drilling debt when the company filed for bankruptcy in November 2017.Suburban Propane Partners (SPH): SPH is a ~2% portfolio stake established in Q2 2017 at prices between $22.75 and $27 and increased by ~75% next quarter at prices between $23.50 and $26. The stock is currently at $23. The position was more than doubled in Q4 2017 at prices between $23.20 and $26.70 and that was followed with a ~87% increase over the next two quarters at prices between $22 and $27.Och-Ziff Capital Management (OZM): OZM is a 1.39% portfolio stake established in Q2 2016 at prices between $33 and $43.50 and increased by ~11% in the following quarter at prices between $33.50 and $44.90. There was another ~11% increase in Q4 2016 at a cost-basis around $32. Q1 2017 also saw a ~17% increase at prices between $22 and $36.30. The stock is now at $23.91.Note: The prices quoted above are adjusted for the 1 for 10 reverse stock-split in January. Abrams controls ~12% of the business.Akebia Therapeutics (AKBA): AKBA was a minutely small 0.74% portfolio stake as of Q3 2018. They merged with Keryx Pharmaceuticals (KERX) in a transaction that closed in December. KERX shareholders received 0.37433 common shares of AKBA for each share held. Abrams had ~9.1M shares of Keryx for which he received 3.4M shares. Abrams also increased the overall position by ~20% during Q4 2018 at prices between $5.40 and $9.15. AKBA currently trades at $4.41.Note: Their ownership stake in Akebia is at ~5%.Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings (CCO): CCO is a very small 0.43% of the 13F portfolio stake. It is a very long-term position that has been in the portfolio since 2009. The stake has been kept almost steady since. In March 2012, CCO paid a special-dividend of $6.08 per share and that recouped almost the entire outlay on this investment. The stock currently trades at $2.38.The spreadsheet below highlights changes to Abrams’ 13F stock holdings in Q2 2019:Regulatory Filings thru 5/12/2019: Form 4 – 4/25 – CWH – 4.36M shares – 414K shares acquired at $13.44, Form 4 – 3/24 – 56.7K shares at $12.96 – 3.95M shares, Form 4 – 3/12 – 29.9K shares acquired at $11.94. 13D/A – 4/23, 4/4 – PCG – 25M shares – 4.74%, 13D – 3/15 – 176.9M outlay for the 25M shares acquired."