Guru Jim Chanos (Trades, Portfolio), president and founder of Kynikos Associates, is known for short selling. While GuruFocus emphasizes long positions, Chanos’ fourth-quarter activity offers a glimpse of how malleable the portfolio of a short seller can be.
Chanos bought holdings in 10 companies that are new to his portfolio – SunEdison Inc (SUNE, Financial), SPDR S&P Retail [ETF] (XRT, Financial), SPDR S&P China [ETF] (GXC, Financial), Nordstrom Inc (JWN, Financial), United States Oil Fund LP [ETF] (USO, Financial), WisdomTree Inter Hedged Eq Fund (HEDJ, Financial), Allegiant Travel Co LLC (ALGT, Financial), Anheuser-Busch Inbev SA (BUD, Financial),Boston Beer Co Inc (SAM, Financial) and iShares Russell 2000 Index [ETF] (IWM, Financial) – and one of those new stakes became the top holding in his portfolio..
He bought 770,021 shares of SunEdison, a solar energy company based in Missouri, for an average price of $19.07 per share, making it the largest stake in his portfolio. The transaction had a 5.4% impact on that portfolio.
David Einhorn (Trades, Portfolio), Steven Cohen (Trades, Portfolio), Ron Baron (Trades, Portfolio), Daniel Loeb (Trades, Portfolio), George Soros (Trades, Portfolio), Larry Robbins (Trades, Portfolio), Leon Cooperman (Trades, Portfolio), Chuck Royce (Trades, Portfolio), Louis Moore Bacon (Trades, Portfolio) and John Hussman (Trades, Portfolio) have SunEdison in their portfolios. Ken Fisher (Trades, Portfolio) sold his stake in the fourth quarter.
Chanos added to his existing holdings in six companies – Valero Energy Corp (VLO, Financial), Apple Inc (AAPL), Lazard Ltd (LAZ), Morgan Stanley (MS), Cloud Peak Energy Inc (CLD) and iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Indx [ETF] (EEM).
He bought 59,675 shares of Valero Energy, a Texas-based manufacturer and marketer of transportation fuels, other petrochemical products and power, for an average price of $48.49 per share. The purchase had a 1.06% impact on his portfolio.
Steven Cohen (Trades, Portfolio), Joel Greenblatt (Trades, Portfolio), Ray Dalio (Trades, Portfolio), Louis Moore Bacon (Trades, Portfolio), Caxton Associates (Trades, Portfolio), Donald Smith (Trades, Portfolio), Jeff Auxier (Trades, Portfolio), John Keeley (Trades, Portfolio), Ken Fisher (Trades, Portfolio), T Boone Pickens (Trades, Portfolio), Paul Tudor Jones (Trades, Portfolio) and David Dreman (Trades, Portfolio) have shares of Valero Energy in their portfolios. Scott Black (Trades, Portfolio), Pioneer Investments (Trades, Portfolio), John Hussman (Trades, Portfolio) and Jim Simons (Trades, Portfolio) sold their stakes in the fourth quarter. Signature Select Canadian Fund (Trades, Portfolio) sold its stake in the third quarter.
He sold his stakes in six companies – EOG Resources Inc (EOG), Noble Energy Inc (NBL), American Airlines Group Inc (AAL), ConocoPhillips (COP), Cullen/Frost Bankers Inc (CFR) and Allergan Inc (AGN).
Chanos sold his 131,000-share stake in EOG Resources, a Houston-based oil and gas company, for an average price of $93.1 per share. The transaction had a -5.1% impact on his portfolio.
T Boone Pickens (Trades, Portfolio), Caxton Associates (Trades, Portfolio), Manning & Napier Advisors Inc, Ron Baron (Trades, Portfolio), Ray Dalio (Trades, Portfolio), Diamond Hill Capital (Trades, Portfolio), Westport Asset Management (Trades, Portfolio), Mario Gabelli (Trades, Portfolio), John Keeley (Trades, Portfolio), Murray Stahl (Trades, Portfolio), Pioneer Investments (Trades, Portfolio), Chris Davis (Trades, Portfolio), PRIMECAP Management (Trades, Portfolio), RS Investment Management (Trades, Portfolio), Signature Select Canadian Fund (Trades, Portfolio) and Meridian Funds (Trades, Portfolio) have shares of EOG in their portfolios.
Paul Tudor Jones (Trades, Portfolio), Steven Cohen (Trades, Portfolio), Jim Simons (Trades, Portfolio), Louis Moore Bacon (Trades, Portfolio) and David Dreman (Trades, Portfolio) sold their stakes in EOG in the second half of 2014.
Chanos sold his 149,260-share stake in Noble Energy, a Houston-based oil and natural gas exploration and production company, for an average price of $54.13 per share. The deal had a -4% impact on his portfolio.
Paul Singer (Trades, Portfolio), Steven Cohen (Trades, Portfolio), Ron Baron (Trades, Portfolio), Ray Dalio (Trades, Portfolio), PRIMECAP Management (Trades, Portfolio), Scott Black (Trades, Portfolio), Diamond Hill Capital (Trades, Portfolio), Meridian Funds (Trades, Portfolio) and Chris Shumway (Trades, Portfolio) have shares of Noble Energy in their portfolios. Mario Gabelli (Trades, Portfolio) sold his stake in Noble Energy in the fourth quarter.
Chanos sold portions of his stakes in 12 companies – Consumer Discretionary SPDR [ETF] (XLY), Activision Blizzard Inc (ATVI), iShares FTSE/Xinhua China 25 Index [ETF] (FXI), SanDisk Corp (SNDK), SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY), SPDR S&P MidCap 400 ETF (MDY), Palo Alto Networks Inc (PANW), Schlumberger NV (SLB), Cerner Corp (CERN), Delta Air Lines Inc (DAL), Workday Inc (WDAY) and Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc (DPS).
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