Billionaire Trump Supporter Carl Icahn Made These Changes To His Portfolio Amid Trump’s Win

Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF)

– Shares Held By Icahn Capital (as of December 31): 99.03 Million

– Value of Holding (as of December 31): $1.08 Billion

With Icahn Capital boosting its stake in Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF) for the second quarter in a row, by 14%, the fight between Mr. Icahn and fellow activist investor and billionaire Bill Ackman over whose thesis on the stock is right seems to be intensifying. Mr. Ackman has long argued that Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF) is a scam and has famously kept his massive short position in the stock, which he created years ago. Considering that Herbalife’s stock has appreciated by over 27% since the beginning of 2016, Mr. Icahn seems to be winning this fight for now. The crusade that Mr. Ackman has been leading against Herbalife for years now has arguably been the most covered fight that an activist investor has led against a company. Its importance can be gauged from the fact that a documentary film is being made on it called ‘Betting on Zero’, which will release on March 17. Whether that documentary will affect Herbalife’s stock or not is debatable, but analysts from Pivotal Research continue to remain bullish on it. On January 20, they reiterated their ‘Buy ‘ rating and $90 price target on the stock, which suggest potential upside of nearly 48%.

Freeport-McMoRan Inc (NYSE:FCX)

– Shares Held By Icahn Capital (as of December 31): 91.24 Million

– Value of Holding (as of December 31): $1.20 Billion

Apart from selling its entire stake in Voltari Corp (OTCMKTS:VLTC), Freeport-McMoRan Inc (NYSE:FCX) was the only stock in which Icahn Capital lowered its stake by more than 10% during the fourth quarter. Though the fund sold off 12% of its stake in the company during the fourth quarter, Freeport-McMoRan Inc (NYSE:FCX) continued to remain its seventh-largest equity holding, owing to the 21% increase in its stock during that time. Freeport-McMoRan’s stock has appreciated by a further 14% so far in 2017 but is still trading down by nearly 75% from the highs it made in late-2010. The natural resources company has taken several constructive steps, like halting its quarterly dividend payouts and conducting asset sales to bring its debt down to $12 billion from $20 billion in calendar year 2016.  According to analysts who track the stock, the improvement in the company’s balance sheet and free cash flow along with favorable trends in the copper market could push the stock to significantly higher levels in the coming months.