Billionaire Leon Cooperman’s Best Ideas to Turn the Ship Around

Leon Cooperman decided to trim his stake in Allergan plc Ordinary Shares (NYSE:AGN), with the Irish giant now on course to merge with Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE). According to its latest 13F filing, Omega’s position was reduced by 3% to 781,780 shares valued at approximately $244 million. At the end of the third quarter, Allergan plc Ordinary Shares (NYSE:AGN) was the most popular stock among the hedge funds we track, having attracted the attention of 151 elite fund managers. Billionaire Dan Loeb is also betting on Allergan plc Ordinary Shares (NYSE:AGN), having increased his stake by 47% over the fourth quarter to amass 5.4 million shares.

Cooperman is bullish on American International Group Inc (NYSE:AIG), having increased his investment in the insurance giant by 21% during the quarter, making it his second-biggest bet. Omega now holds 4.09 million shares of AIG, worth $253 million at the end of 2015. John Paulson and Carl Icahn have recently teamed up to try and force the breakup of American International Group Inc (NYSE:AIG) into three separate entities, arguing that the move would rid the group of the “systemically important financial institution” tag, which implies tougher regulatory requirements and costs. As activists were gearing up for a full scale war, the management of American International Group Inc (NYSE:AIG) agreed to offer them board seats as a token of faith and to engage amiably. They have not, however, come to an agreement, as Paulson and Icahn continue to believe that breaking the company up is the way forward, while management appears to believe otherwise.

Leon Cooperman is still betting big on Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL), his top pick heading into 2016, although he decided to cut his position in the stock by 11% over the fourth quarter. In its latest 13F filing, Omega indicated ownership of 427,619 class A shares of the tech giant, worth in excess of $332 million. Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL) was a solid performer during 2015, ending the year up by 46%. Among its moves during the year, Google decided to reorganize itself under the Alphabet umbrella, to provide investors with greater transparency in regards to its core businesses and other endeavors. At the beginning of February the company released its first quarterly financial report under that new structure, reporting a 14% increase in revenue from its core businesses, to $74.54 billion. The other group, which includes projects like self-driving cars, reported an operating loss of $3.1 billion, double the figure reported a year earlier. Still, Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL) managed to beat analysts’ estimates for the fourth quarter, posting adjusted earnings of $8.67 per share on the back of $21.33 billion in revenue.

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