market folly

John Paulson's hedge fund firm Paulson & Co filed a 13D with the SEC regarding its position in Extended Stay America (STAY).  Per the filing, Paulson now owns 10.3% of STAY with over 20 million shares.

This is a decrease of over 8.54 million shares since the end of 2016 when they previously owned 28.6 million STAY shares.  These are paired shares with ESH Hospitality which Paulson also owns and they trimmed that position proportionately as well. 

Paulson sold some STAY shares on March 10th at $16.70 per a Form 4 filed with the SEC.  We previously highlighted that Paulson trimmed this position back in November as well.

Per Google Finance, Extended Stay America is "an integrated owner/operator of Company-branded hotels in North America. The Company operates in hotel operations segment. The Company's business operates in the extended stay sector of the lodging industry. As of December 31, 2016, the Company owned and operated 629 hotels comprising approximately 69,400 rooms located in 44 states across the United States and in Canada. The Company owns and operates its hotels under its brand, Extended Stay America, which serves the mid-price extended stay sector. As of December 31, 2016, the Company also owned and operated three Extended Stay Canada hotels. The Company operates its hotels owned by ESH Hospitality, Inc. (ESH REIT). The hotels are operated by the Operating Lessees, subsidiaries of the Company and are managed by ESA Management LLC (ESA Management), a subsidiary of the Company. ESH Strategies, a subsidiary of the Company, owns the brands related to its business."