Andreas Halvorsen Sells More Than Half of His Stake in Valeant

Jun 18, 2015

Andreas Halvorsen (Trades, Portfolio), founding partner and chief executive officer of Connecticut-based Viking Global Investors, is one of the top-earning hedge fund managers. After Halvorsen started Viking Global in 1999, the hedge fund gained 22% on average annually for the next decade.

Halvorsen’s most significant transaction in the first quarter was his sale of a portion of his stake in Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc (VRX, Financial), a pharmaceutical company from Montreal. Halvorsen sold 5,018,664 shares, more than 55% of his stake, for an average price of $177.4 per share. The deal had a -3.32% impact on Halvorsen’s portfolio.

Halvorsen, who reduced his holdings in 16 companies in the first quarter, reduced his stake in Dollar Tree Stores Inc (DLTR, Financial), a Chesapeake, Virginia-based chain of discount variety stores, selling 5,992,962 shares (more than 83% of his holding) for an average price of $75.91 per share. The sale had a -1.92% impact on his portfolio.

Halvorsen reduced his stake in Baidu Inc (BIDU, Financial), a Chinese web services company, selling nearly 58% of his shares. Halvorsen sold 3,349,746 shares for an average price of $214.25 per share. The transaction had a -1.74% impact on his portfolio.

Halvorsen also sold portions of his stakes in companies such as Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc (WBA, Financial), Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc (TMO, Financial), Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc (HLT, Financial) and Pioneer Natural Resources Co (PXD, Financial).

Halvorsen sold out 20 of his holdings in the first quarter, the most significant of which was his sale of 8,803,384 shares of Delta Air Lines Inc (DAL, Financial), an Atlanta-based airline, for an average price of $46.38 per share. The sale had a -2% impact on his portfolio.

Halvorsen also sold his 4,139,424-share stake in Allergan Inc (AGN, Financial), a Dublin, Ireland- and New Jersey-based pharmaceutical company, for an average price of $225.95 per share. The sale had a -1.9% impact on Halvorsen’s portfolio.

Among the other stakes that Halvorsen sold in the first quarter were Visa Inc (V, Financial), Walmart Stores Inc (WMT, Financial), Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc (CCE, Financial), Anthem Inc (ANTM) and Shire PLC (SHPG).

New buys and additions

Halvorsen made 17 new buys in the first quarter. The most significant was his purchase of 8,442,018 shares of American International Group Inc (AIG), a New York-based multinational insurance corporation, for an average price of $53.62 per share. The deal had a 1.79% impact on Halvorsen’s portfolio.

Halvorsen also acquired 843,500 shares of Google Inc (GOOG), a California-based technology company focusing on internet-related services and products, for an average price of $535.97 per share. The transaction had a 1.79% impact on Halvorsen’s portfolio.

Halvorsen also purchased stakes in Mallinckrodt PLC (MNK), Canadian National Railway Co (CNI), MetLife Inc (MET) and American Express Co (AXP).

Halvorsen also added to about two dozen existing stakes, the most significant being his purchase of 11,243,660 shares of Sealed Air Corp (SEE), a New Jersey-based packaging company, for an average price of $44.34 per share. The buy had a 1.99% impact on his portfolio and raised his stake in Sealed Air by nearly 350%.

Halvorsen also added to his stake in Google Inc (GOOGL), buying 895,988 shares for an average price of $541.78 per share. The purchase had a 1.92% impact on his portfolio and increased his stake in Google by more than 120%.

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