market folly

George Soros' hedge fund firm has recently filed two separate 13G's with the SEC to update some of their positions. Firstly, we see that Soros Fund Management has disclosed a 5.26% ownership stake in Dana Holding Corp (DAN) with 7,331,132 shares. The filing was made due to activity on November 20th, 2009 and represents a massive increase in their position in DAN. As per their last 13F filing where they disclosed their positions as of September 30th, Soros owned only 1,500,000 shares of DAN. This means they have heavily boosted their equity stake in the past two months.

Additionally, we see that George Soros has also continued to sell down his stake in Global Ship Lease (GSL). His hedge fund now owns a 1.82% ownership stake in GSL with 864,500 shares as per an amended 13G filing with the SEC on November 24th, 2009. Do note that these shares are represented by warrants they own on GSL. Most recently, Soros Fund Management had a 7.45% ownership stake and before that a 13.66% ownership stake. They first sold their common shares and have now begun to sell the vast majority of their warrants. And as you can see, with only a 1.82% stake left, they are all but out of this name as they continue to sell down their position. You can check out our initial coverage of Soros' GSL position from back in early November.

This recent activity comes right after a portfolio update we did on Soros where he had adjusted three positions in his portfolio. As we've noted in our hedge fund news updates, Soros cautiously believes the market is overdue for a correction. He and many other fund managers have been expecting this for a while, yet the market continues to rally higher. More of Soros' thoughts on the financial markets are detailed in his latest book, The New Paradigm for Financial Markets: The Credit Crisis of 2008 and What It Means.

Taken from Google Finance,

Dana Holding Corp is "a supplier of axle, driveshaft, structural, sealing and thermal products for global vehicle manufacturers. The Company designs and manufactures products for vehicle producer. It operates 113 major facilities worldwide. Dana serves three primary markets: automotive market; commercial vehicle market, and off-highway market. "

Global Ship Lease "acquires and charters vessels to container shipping companies. The Company was incorporated to acquire a fleet of containerships of diverse sizes."

Check back in as we'll soon be detailing George Soros' entire portfolio in our hedge fund portfolio tracking series.