Big Changes At The Top of Passport Capital’s Portfolio As Yahoo (YHOO) Takes Top Spot

General Electric Company (NYSE:GE)

– Shares Owned by Passport Capital (as of June 30): 5.47 million

– Value of Passport Capital’s Holding (as of June 30): $172.34 million

Passport Capital increased its exposure to General Electric Company (NYSE:GE) by 790,451 shares during the second quarter. General Electric reported second quarter EPS of $0.51 on $33.5 billion in revenue, powering past the Street’s consensus targets of $0.46 in EPS and $31.76 billion in revenue. The company however reported weak demand for new equipment serving the oil, gas and transportation industries, raising concerns about its full-year targets. General Electric’s stock is flat year-to-date. As of the end of the second quarter, Natixis Global Asset Management’s Harris Associates owns 38.11 million shares of General Electric Company (NYSE:GE).

CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF)

– Shares Owned by Passport Capital (as of June 30): 7.23 million

– Value of Passport Capital’s Holding (as of June 30): $174.2 million

Passport Capital cut its stake in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF) by 35% during the April-to-June period, having ended the second quarter with approximately 7.23 million shares of the company. Earlier this month, the Illinois-based manufacturer of agricultural fertilizers reported second quarter earnings which fell short of analysts’ forecasts. The company earned $0.33 per share, less than half of the $0.68 consensus mark of analysts, while revenue of $1.13 billion was in-line with the average estimate. Shares of CF Industries have lost over 43% of their value in 2016. Matthew Barrett’s Glendon Capital Management owns 2.14 million shares of the company as of the end of the second quarter.

Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO)

– Shares Owned by Passport Capital (as of June 30): 7.27 million

– Value of Passport Capital’s Holding (as of June 30): $273.12 million

Passport Capital boosted its stake in Yahoo by 55% during the second quarter, elevating the holding to the top of its long portfolio, accounting for around 5% of its value. In a letter to investors, Mr. Burnbank said that Yahoo’s stake in Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (NYSE:BABA) makes it an attractive investment target, mainly due to the growing, technologically-savvy user base in China, which provides the country’s consumer internet companies with strong growth potential. Mr. Burbank thinks that Yahoo is an efficient way to own Alibaba, a company which he thinks could become one of the world’s most valuable because of its dominance of three diverse businesses in China: e-commerce, e-finance, and the cloud. In contrast, most of its international rivals only excel in their core businesses. Owning Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO)’s shares, Burbank thinks, is similar to owning Alibaba’s but with something akin to a call option on the tax-efficient divestiture of Yahoo. Last month, Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) announced that it will acquire Yahoo’s core internet business for $4.83 billion in cash. Jeffrey Smith’s Starboard Value owns 12.29 million shares of Yahoo as of the end of June.

Disclosure: None