SAC Capital, the $14 billion hedge fund firm ran by Steven Cohen has been quite busy with SEC filings as of late. We recently covered SAC's portfolio holdings here. Since then, SAC has amended various 13G filings with the SEC, adjusting many of the positions in their portfolio. All of the following 13G filings were made due to SAC's trading activity on December 31st, 2008 or January 1st, 2009. In no particular order:
- United Therapeutics (UTHR) - SAC now shows that they have a less than 0.01% stake in UTHR. Back on September 30th, 2008, they had owned 209,562 shares of UTHR. So, they have effectively sold off almost all of their stake.
- OM Group (OMG) - SAC now has a 0% stake in OMG and holds 0 shares.
- Savient Pharmaceuticals (SVNT) - SAC has sold out of their position of SVNT completely and now owns 0 shares according to their 13G. They previously owned 50,675 shares.
- True Religion Apparel (TRLG) - SAC sold completely out of their TRLG position and show 0 shares as of their latest 13G. They previously had held 278,695 shares.
- Zale Corporation (ZLC) - SAC now holds 0 shares of ZLC. They previously held 76,049 shares.
- Tween Brands (TWB) - SAC sold out of their entire position in TWB.
- WCI Communities (WCIMQ) - They no longer hold any shares of WCIMQ.
- Pilgrim's Pride (PGPDQ) - SAC sold out of all of their PGPDQ.
- Cabot Corporation (CBT) - They no longer own any CBT.
- Albemarle (ALB) - SAC now holds 0.3% stake in ALB (300,000 shares). They previously owned 200,000 shares.
- Inspire Pharmaceuticals (ISPH) - They no longer own any ISPH.
- Incyte (INCY) - SAC now has disclosed they have a 0.4% stake in INCY, reducing their holdings drastically from their previous holdings in excess of 2 million shares.
- Indevus Pharmaceuticals (IDEV) - They sold completely out of their IDEV.
- Keryx Biopharmaceuticals (KERX) - SAC no longer holds KERX.
- Emergency Medical Services (EMS) - SAC has disclosed they now only own a 1.2% stake in EMS, drastically reducing their position from last disclosure.
- Charlotte Russe (CHIC) - They sold completely out of their position.
- Cymer (CYMI) - They also sold completely out of CYMI.
- Biomarin Pharmaceutical (BRMN) - SAC sold out of their position entirely.
- Chiquita Brands (CQB) - They no longer own this name.
- Applied Energetics (AERG) - They also sold completely out of this name.
- Century Aluminum (CENX) - Sold completely out of their position.
- American Apparel (APP) - SAC no longer owns any APP.
- Acorda Therapeutics (ACOR) - Sold completely out of this name.
- P.F. Chang's China Bistro (PFCB) - Disclosed they now own a 1.3% stake in the company.
- Vaxgen (VXGN) - Now showing a 1.6% stake in VXGN.
- Fresh Del Monte Produce (FDP) - Now show a less than 0.1% ownership stake.
- Navistar International (NAV) - Disclosed they now have a 2.1% stake in NAV.
- Vanda Pharmaceuticals (VNDA) - Sold completely out of their position.
- Sanderson Farms (SAFM) - Sold completely out of this name as well.
- Assured Guaranty (AGO) - They now have a 0.2% ownership stake in AGO.
- Akorn (AKRX) - Now show a 0.3% ownership stake.
- Auxilium Pharmaceuticals (AUXL) - Also showing a 0.3% ownership stake in this name as well.
- Stewart Enterprises (STEI) - SAC now has a 4% ownership stake in STEI.
- Ocean Power Technologies (OPTT) - Due to activity on January 1st, 2009, SAC now shows a 4.9% ownership stake in the company
- Hasbro (HAS) - Activity with their shares on December 31st, 2008 leads SAC to disclose a 3.6% ownership stake in HAS.
- Cougar Biotechnology (CGRB) - SAC has disclosed they now have a less than 0.1% ownership stake in the company.
- Orexigen Therapeutics (OREX) - SAC now shows a 4.9% ownership stake in OREX as a result of their amended 13G filing.
As you can see, from a collective 37 separate 13G filings, SAC was reducing a lot of position sizes for the most part. We just want to again remind everyone that SAC has a tendency to move in and out of positions very quickly, so keep that in mind. We're merely relaying the information that was filed with the SEC and we will update any other positions they may change in the future. SAC decreased equity exposure by almost half from quarter to quarter (based on 13F filings with the SEC) and it was reported SAC was going to cash back in October. Also interesting is that many of the largest positions in their portfolio consist of debt of various companies.
Taken from their website, “SAC is a multi-strategy, private asset management firm founded by Steven A. Cohen in 1992 with 9 employees and $25 million in assets under management. As of July 2008, the firm has grown to over 800 employees with approximately $14 billion in assets under management. SAC's initial investment style was "trading" oriented. However, we have evolved into a multi-strategy, multi-disciplinary, investment management firm emphasizing rigorous research and risk management practices. SAC's investment strategies include, but are not limited to: Fundamental and Technical Long/Short Equity Portfolios, Global Quantitative Strategies, Fixed Income and Credit, Global Macro Strategies, Convertible Bonds, and Emerging Markets.”
Since inception, their funds have returned on average 40% annually, which explains how they can charge a 50% performance fee to investors, compared to the normal 20% that most hedge funds charge. They are very active traders and at any given time can account for up to 3% of the volume on the New York Stock Exchange and up to 1% on the Nasdaq. You can view the rest of their portfolio holdings here (just keep in mind the above recent changes to their portfolio).
