November Performance

It’s time to review my performance for the month of November and year to date. For the month of November, I generated a gain of +2.25%, which underperformed the S&P 500 with a gain of +2.75%. My performance year to date is +40.45%. The positions that hurt my performance in November were Vertex Pharmaceuticals (Ticker: VRTX), Genzyme CVR (Ticker: GCVRZ) and The Jones Group (Ticker: JNY). The strong performers continued to be Constellation Brands (Ticker: STZ), Apple (Ticker: AAPL), Mastercard (Ticker: MA) and Visa (Ticker: V). I’m still playing Spectrum Communications (Ticker: SPRD) and ViroPharma (Ticker: VPHM) by selling Puts as I see these deals closing fairly soon.

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%

I have my portfolio positioned somewhat conservatively as we head toward the close of the year. The primary reason can be attributed to the lack of special situation plays, which I often aggressively lever up. So I have some cash just waiting for the right opportunity…

Sold Some Constellation Brands

I lightened up my position in Constellation Brands (Ticker: STZ) just a bit today. I sold some shares in Constellation Brands at $69.31 generating a net gain of 60.59%. I purchased these shares on February 21^st. I still hold a large position in Constellation Brands as it still makes up ~ 25% of my portfolio. I have no intention of selling my remaining shares anytime soon. I still see lots of catalyst to push this one higher. The reason I sold some Constellation Brands was to free up some cash for Biogen-Idec (Ticker: BIIB). This stock broke out nicely today and I re-entered my position at $280.80.

What else… I sold some more ViroPharma (Ticker: VPHM) Jan 2016 $45 Puts today for $0.35. I don’t see any issues with this deal closing in Q4. So, that’s it for now…

Playing ViroPharma

I really didn’t expect ViroPharma, Inc. (Ticker: VPHM) to be acquired, but it happened today. Shire PLC (Ticker: SHPG) will acquire ViroPharma for $50 per share in cash. I’m playing this deal by selling the ViroPharma January 2016 $45 Puts for $0.40. This deal should close pretty fast as Shire will acquire ViroPharma via a tender offer and should completed by the end of the year.

Sold the Jones Group and Biogen Idec

I took a loss in the Jones Group, Inc. (Ticker: JNY) today by selling at $13.88 generating a net loss of 11.45%. It has been reported that G-III has dropped out of the bid for the entire company leaving just Sycamore Partners as the only potential bidder for the entire company. This was a ~ 6% position so it was a small hit. I’ve cut my losses and moved on…

I also decided to wind down my risk a bit by selling my holding (~ 8% position) in Biogen Idec, Inc. (Ticker: BIIB) today at $236.03 generating a net gain of 2.32%. I’m just building my cash position a bit.

October Performance

We’re heading into the final stretch of the year as October has just ended. My results for the month of October was + 6.92% bringing my total year to date gain of +38.20%. Many growth stocks performed well in October. The stocks that contributed positively to my performance were: Constellation Brands (Ticker: STZ), Visa (Ticker: V), Mastercard (Ticker: MA), Apple (Ticker: AAPL) and Qiagen (Ticker: QGEN), while Vertex Pharmaceuticals (Ticker: VRTX) was a drag.

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%

I did pick up a few shares in The Jones Group, Inc. (Ticker: JNY) yesterday at $15.67. It looks like a deal will be finalized shortly with Sycamore Partners as the likely acquirer. I also added more to my Spectrum Communications (Ticker: SPRD) position by selling more of the January 2015 $30 Puts for $0.50. I guess that’s it for now…