Kodiak Oil & Gas Corp (USA) (KOG), Elan Corporation, plc (ADR) (ELN): Here’s What Billionaire John Paulson Has Been Buying

Cobalt International Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CIE) has seen its stock roughly triple over the past two years, in part due to oil discoveries in the Gulf of Mexico. The company has its doubters, though, with more than 5% of its float shorted as of late July. They probably don’t like the company’s sizable cash burn and net losses over the past few years, along with its debt. Its last quarter featured narrowing losses with a drop in costs and its CEO waxing bullish: “… our catalytic exploration well program continues to progress as planned. Never in the history of Cobalt International Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CIE) have we been in a position to deliver more results in such a short period of time.”

Paulson & Co. reduced its stake in lots of companies, including Hartford Financial Services Group Inc (NYSE:HIG). Hartford Financial Services Group Inc (NYSE:HIG) has been shifting its focus from annuities, retirement planning, and life insurance toward property and casualty insurance. It has been tackling its significant debt, and while its second quarter showed widening net losses, it also featured an 18% gain in core earnings and management expressing confidence via a 50% dividend hike. The Hartford Financial Services Group Inc (NYSE:HIG) has faced asbestos-related liabilities and sold a U.K. annuity business to Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway. Hartford stock has been volatile, but some see it as undervalued now, with a forward P/E ratio of just 9and a dividend yield around 1.9%.

Finally, Paulson’s biggest closed positions included Plains Exploration and Production and MetroPCS Communications. Plains was bought by Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. (NYSE:FCX), and MetroPCS merged with T-Mobile US.

We should never blindly copy any investor’s moves, no matter how talented the investor. But it can be useful to keep an eye on what smart folks are doing. 13-F forms can be great places to find intriguing candidates for our portfolios.

 The article Here’s What Billionaire John Paulson Has Been Buying originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Selena Maranjian.

Longtime Fool contributor Selena Maranjian owns shares of Berkshire Hathaway. The Motley Fool recommends Berkshire Hathaway and Thermo Fisher Scientific. It owns shares of Berkshire Hathaway and Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold.

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