Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Viropharma = Done Deal

Today, Shire (Ticker: SHPG) announced that they are waiving the UK OFT (Office of Fair Trade) approval condition in order to close the acquisition of Viropharma (Ticker: VPHM). This decision was the final condition needed to close this deal. The UK OFT had until February 10th to announce their decision. Shire will close this deal on January 24th. I sold the Jan 2016 45 Puts on Viropharma so I will let those expire on February 21st.

Monday, January 13, 2014

Sold Hilton Worldwide

I sold my tiny position in Hilton Worldwide Holdings, Inc. (Ticker: HLT) today at $21.76 generating a net gain of 8.8%. I received these shares though the IPO in December for $20 per share. This was just a small holding so it was either I sell the shares after 30 days or decide to start building up a larger position. I decided to sell my shares. I’m generally cautious about the private equity offerings as they generally cash out at the peak.

Wednesday, January 08, 2014

Constellation Brands - Very Good Numbers

A very nice quarter reported by Constellation Brands (Ticker: STZ) this morning. The company reported earnings per share of $1.10 and revenues of $1.44 billion, which easily beat the consensus estimates. I was particularly pleased to see the free cash flow estimates of $525 to $575 million for 2014. This stock should see a nice pop based of these results. I still like this stock and have no intentions of selling anytime soon. This holding currently makes up ~ 20% of my portfolio.

Wednesday, January 01, 2014

2013 Performance Review


It’s time to reflect on some of my trades from 2013. I like to focus on my losers as those are the ones that can really hurt ones performance. I lost a little bit in Jones Group, Moneygram International and Optimer Pharmaceuticals. I should have been a little more patient with the Jones Group and let the buy out process work itself out. I cut my losses in Moneygram International and Optimer Pharmaceuticals, which turned out to be the right thing to do. And the Genzyme Contingent Value Rights, which I held until the FDA decision, was the one that I should of sold earlier in hindsight. 

Looking back, I ask myself the question: Would I have done anything differently? The answer is: No. I felt I did a decent job in managing my overall risk and was able to generate a satisfactory return.

For 2013 I generated a total return of 44.61%. The running monthly returns are as follows:

January -0.3%
February +4.67%
March +5.03%
April +5.13%
May +5.13%
June -0.37%
July +2.3%
August +3.3%
September +6.39%
October +6.92%
November +2.25%
December +4.16%

I am pleased with my performance for 2013 considering that I had a good amount of Apple, which held back my performance a bit. I maintained a balanced approach in which the portfolio was comprised of large cap growth stocks and special situation plays. The special situation plays such as merger buyouts helped to lower my volatility and generate some positive alpha.

These past few years have been very good and it’s probably time to take my feet of the petal just a bit. But we’ll see what opportunities develop…

I guess that’s a wrap for 2013. Have a Very Healthy, Prosperous and Happy New Year!