Jim Chanos (Trades, Portfolio) is known as a short seller, and his current short positions can be found under the "Short Selling" tab on his portfolio page. Chanos made 16 new buys in the first quarter, and many immediately became among the most valuable holdings in his portfolio.
The largest of Chanos’ new buys was DBX ETF Trust (DBEM, Financial), an exchange traded fund that invests in the public equity markets of countries in South America, the Middle East, Asia and Europe. Chanos bought 334,760 shares for an average price of $21.85 per share. The transaction, which had a 4.59% impact on Chanos’ portfolio, made DBX ETF Trust the second-largest stake in Chanos’ possession by volume and the fourth-most valuable.
Chanos also invested in a stake in McDonald's Corp (MCD, Financial), the Illinois-based chain of hamburger fast food restaurants, acquiring 67,788 shares for an average price of $94.88 per share. The purchase had a 3.1% impact on Chanos’ portfolio and made McDonald’s the 11th-most valuable and 11th-largest stake in his possession.
McDonald’s has a market cap of $92.31 billion and an enterprise value of $104.97 billion. It has a P/E of 21.6, a Price/Book of 8.5 and a Price/Sales of 3.5. Mason Hawkins (Trades, Portfolio), First Eagle Investment (Trades, Portfolio), Larry Robbins (Trades, Portfolio), Jeremy Grantham (Trades, Portfolio), Brian Rogers (Trades, Portfolio), Diamond Hill Capital (Trades, Portfolio), HOTCHKIS & WILEY, John Burbank (Trades, Portfolio), Louis Moore Bacon (Trades, Portfolio), RS Investment Management (Trades, Portfolio), Jim Simons (Trades, Portfolio), Tom Gayner (Trades, Portfolio), Manning & Napier Advisors, Inc, Ruane Cunniff (Trades, Portfolio), Jana Partners (Trades, Portfolio), Joel Greenblatt (Trades, Portfolio), First Pacific Advisors (Trades, Portfolio), Steven Cohen (Trades, Portfolio), Dodge & Cox, Pioneer Investments (Trades, Portfolio), Bill Frels (Trades, Portfolio), Ken Fisher (Trades, Portfolio), Jeff Auxier (Trades, Portfolio), Murray Stahl (Trades, Portfolio) and Tom Russo (Trades, Portfolio) have shares of McDonald’s in their portfolios. Paul Tudor Jones (Trades, Portfolio) and Caxton Associates (Trades, Portfolio) sold their stakes in the first quarter.
VF Corp (VFC, Financial), a North-Carolina based apparel and footwear company, became Chanos’ 14th-most valuable stock when he purchased 82,107 shares for an average price of $73.52 per share. The buy had a 2.91% impact on Chanos’ portfolio.
VF Corp has a market cap of $29.97 billion and an enterprise value of $31.81 billion. It has a P/E of 29.5, a Price/Book of 6.4 and a Price/Sales of 2.5. Diamond Hill Capital (Trades, Portfolio), Jeremy Grantham (Trades, Portfolio), Jim Simons (Trades, Portfolio), PRIMECAP Management (Trades, Portfolio), Joel Greenblatt (Trades, Portfolio), Ken Heebner (Trades, Portfolio), Steven Cohen (Trades, Portfolio) and Dodge & Cox have shares of VF Corp in their portfolios. Ken Fisher (Trades, Portfolio) sold his stake in the first quarter.
Chanos acquired a stake in iShares MSCI ACWI Index Fund (ACWI, Financial), buying 92,170 shares for an average price of $59.44 per share. It is the 15th-most valuable stake in his portfolio and had a 2.6% impact on that portfolio.
Its market cap and enterprise value are both $3.8 billion. Louis Moore Bacon (Trades, Portfolio) and RS Investment Management (Trades, Portfolio) have shares in the Fund in their portfolio. Ken Fisher (Trades, Portfolio) sold his stake in the first quarter.
Chanos’ purchase of 77,360 shares of Akamai Technologies Inc (AKAM, Financial) made the Massachusetts-based Cloud services provider the 16th-most valuable stake in his portfolio. Chanos’ acquisition cost him $66.1 per share and had an impact of 2.58% on his portfolio.
Akamai has a market cap of $13.42 billion and an enterprise value of $13.31 billion. It has a P/E of 39.8, a Price/Book of 4.5 and a Price/Sales of 6.7. Stanley Druckenmiller (Trades, Portfolio), Pioneer Investments (Trades, Portfolio), Jeremy Grantham (Trades, Portfolio), RS Investment Management (Trades, Portfolio) and Ray Dalio (Trades, Portfolio) have shares of Akamai in their portfolios. John Hussman (Trades, Portfolio), Jim Simons (Trades, Portfolio), Louis Moore Bacon (Trades, Portfolio) and Caxton Associates (Trades, Portfolio) sold their stakes in the first quarter.
The purchase of 156,862 shares of Fortinet Inc (FTNT, Financial), a California-based computer security company, for an average price of $32.63 made Chanos’ stake in the company his 17th-most valuable. It also had a 2.58% impact on his portfolio.
Fortinet has a market cap of $6.7 billion and an enterprise value of $5.89 billion. It has a P/E of 359.5, a Price/Book of 9.2 and a Price/Sales of 8.3. Steven Cohen (Trades, Portfolio), Mario Gabelli (Trades, Portfolio), RS Investment Management (Trades, Portfolio) and Julian Robertson (Trades, Portfolio) have shares of Fortinet in their portfolios. Manning & Napier Advisors, Inc, Jim Simons (Trades, Portfolio) and Ray Dalio (Trades, Portfolio) sold their stakes in the first quarter.
Chanos’ other new buys in the first quarter were Checkpoint Systems Inc (CKP, Financial), Spirit Airlines Inc (SAVE, Financial), Harris Corporation (HRS, Financial), Costco Wholesale Corp (COST, Financial), Qlik Technologies Inc (QLIK, Financial), iShares MSCI Japan Index (ETF) [EWJ], WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund (DXJ), Qualys Inc (QLYS), Penn Virginia Corp (PVA) and Sanchez Energy Corp (SN).
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