John Paulson
has gone from history-making returns in the subprime-mortgage
market, to record losses in 2011, to being down 14% in his
Advantage Plus Fund since the start of this year through
September, according to Bloomberg. The investor, who has been
bullish on gold for several years, has four stocks currently
trading at 52-week low stock prices, three of which are gold
miners, according to his
GuruFolio available for download here
.
The stocks are: Anglogold Ashanti Limited (
AU
), Shire Plc (
SHPG
), Gold Fields Ltd (
GFI
) and International Tower Hill Mines Ltd. (
THM
).
Anglogold Ashanti Limited (
AU
)
Anglogold Ashanti Limited is Paulson's second-largest holding
below the SPDR Gold Trust ETF (
GLD
), which makes up 30.6% of his portfolio. He has a 7.37% stake in
the company, as owner of 28,403,545 shares. Since the second
quarter of 2011, he has been reducing his position in the company
significantly. Most recently, in the third quarter of 2012 he
sold about 4.4 billion shares for $34 each on average:
This company was one of three investing ideas Paulson gave at the
Ira Sohn Conference in May. "The stock has not been a good
performer over the last couple of years. For me, that represents
an opportunity," he said, according to the New York Times. He
also said he believed its share price should have been about 75
percent higher, if it were valued like its peers.
In the last five years, Anglogold stock has declined 33% to trade
around $30.24 on Wednesday. This is 37.5% off its 52-week high.
In the same period, it grew revenue per share at a rate of 8%
annually and book value at a rate of 5.3% annually, according to
its
10-year financial page
.
Its P/E of 10.5 is close to a 10-year low, and its P/B at 2.1 and
P/S at 1.7 are close to three-year lows.
Shire Plc (
SHPG
)
Paulson initiated a Shire Plc position in the third quarter of
2012. He bought 1,370,800 shares for $90 each on average.
The company's stock has declined almost 2% since it began trading
in June. On Wednesday it is trading around $86 per share, which
is 23.8% off its 52-week low.
Shire is a pharmaceutical company that develops health care in
the areas of behavior health and gastrointestinal conditions,
rare diseases and regenerative medicine and other conditions.
In the last five years, it has grown revenue per share at a rate
of 14.8% annually, EBITDA at 29.5% annually, free cash flow at
14.6% annually and book value at 13.3% annually, according to its
10-year financials
.
In the company's third quarter financial results announced Oct.
25, it said it is on track to deliver double-digit earnings
growth in full-year 2012 and that it is on the verge of launching
its lead product, VYANSE for ADHD, in Europe. Total revenues
increased 10% year over year excluding the impact of Adderall XR
whose sales dropped 32% when a generic version of the ADD
medication was approved in the second quarter 2012. Including
royalty losses, particularly from Adderall XR, revenues increased
1%.
Shire's P/E at 13.7 is close to a 10-year low; its P/B at 4.19
and P/S at 3.6 are both close to their three-year lows.
Gold Fields Ltd (
GFI
)
Paulson owns 6,541,600 shares of Gold Fields as of the end of the
third quarter, when he sold 11,497,000 shares for $13 each on
average. He has been decreasing his shares of the company since
the third quarter of 2011, after buying it in the first quarter
of 2009.
Gold Fields Ltd. is a holding company engaged in gold mining,
exploration, extraction, processing and smelting. It has
operations in South Africa, Ghana, Australia and Peru, and also
deals in copper and platinum.
In the last five years, Gold Fields stock has declined 33% to
trade for about $11.82 on Wednesday. The current price is 32.6%
off its 52-week high.
Over the same period, the company's revenue per share has risen
at a rate of 37.3%, EBITDA at 43% and book value at 3.4%,
according to its 10-year financials.
Gold Fields' P/E at 7.5, P/B at 1.43 and P/S at 1.5 are each
close to their three-year lows.
International Tower Hill Mines Ltd. (
THM
)
John Paulson owns 9.31% of International Tower Hill Mines, or
8,949,654 shares in total. This includes an addition of 3,846,154
shares in the third quarter for $3 each on average, his lowest
purchase price since beginning the position in the third quarter
of 2010.
International Tower Hill Mines is developing its Livengood Gold
Project located near Fairbanks, Alaska. The project is one of the
largest gold deposits discovered in the last 20 years. It has
resources of 16.5 million ounces in the measured & indicated
categories and 4.1 million ounces in the inferred category.
In the last year, its stock has declined almost 54%. Over the
last five years, its stock is up almost 14%. On Wednesday it
trades around $2.08, which is 63% off its 52-week high.
Currently the company has no source of revenue, according to its
third quarter financial statement. Its total assets at the end of
Sept. 30 were $229.1 million, and total liabilities were $32.8
million. The company is still carrying out its feasibility study,
which will be released in the first half of 2013.
See more of John Paulson's buys and sells in his portfolio here.
Also check out the Undervalued Stocks, Top Growth Companies and
High Yield Stocks of John Paulson.About GuruFocus: GuruFocus.com
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