A Look Into Jeff Smith, John Paulson & Two Other Investors’ Latest Moves

According to a Form 4 filing, John Paulson’s Paulson & Co. sold 2.56 million shares of NovaGold Resources Inc. (USA) (NYSEMKT:NG) from Wednesday through Friday at a weighted average price of $5.41. Following the recent sales, Paulson & Co. continues to hold 32.95 million shares that make up 10.31% of the company’s common stock. NovaGold Resources focuses on the exploration and development of gold and copper mineral properties, but does not have any operations or realized revenues from its planned business purpose just yet. The company’s main assets consist of a 50% interest in the Donlin Gold project in Alaska, as well as a 50% interest in the Galore Creek project in British Columbia, Canada. NovaGold’s current operations mainly involve the delivery of project milestones, which include receiving various technical, environmental, sustainable development, economic and legal objectives, obtaining permits, completion of feasibility studies, among other things. The company anticipates to spend roughly $25 million throughout 2016, of which $10 million will be used to fund the company’s share of expenditures at the Donlin Gold and Galore Creek projects and $12 million for general and administrative costs. NovaGold Resources Inc. (USA) (NYSEMKT:NG)’s shares have advanced 76% in the past 12 months and are 44% in the green year-to-date. The number of ‘hedgies’ tracked by Insider Monkey with stakes in NovaGold declined to 15 from 17 during the October-December quarter; those 15 funds amassed nearly 23% of the company’s outstanding common stock. Steadfast Capital Management, run by Robert Pitts, reported ownership of 7.64 million shares in NovaGold Resources Inc. (USA) (NYSEMKT:NG) through its 13F for the final quarter of 2015.

In a freshly-amended 13G filing, Seth Klarman’s Baupost Group LLC reported owning 8.65 million shares of Bellatrix Exploration Ltd (NYSE:BXE), which constitute 4.51% of the company’s overall number of outstanding shares. This represents a decrease from the stake of 23.99 million shares disclosed in Baupost’s 13F filing for the December quarter. As a result, Mr. Klarman’s hedge fund has ceased to be the beneficial owner of more than 5% of Bellatrix’s shares. Bellatrix Exploration Ltd (NYSE:BXE) is a Western Canadian-based growth-oriented oil and gas company that engages in the exploration, acquisition, development and production of oil and natural gas reserves in the provinces of Alberta, British Columbia and Saskatchewan. The company’s total revenue for 2015 was $333.32 million, down from $583.47 million generated in 2014. The decrease in the company’s light oil, condensate, natural gas, and NGL revenues was mainly driven by the decrease in average commodity prices in 2015 as compared to 2014, partly offset by higher sales volumes. Bellatrix’s 2015 sales volumes increased 9% year-on-year to an average of 41,441 barrels of oil equivalent per day, mainly due to ongoing successful drilling activity in the Spirit River resource plays, as well as proactive management of firm service agreements. The oil and gas company has a net capital budget of less than $46 million for the first half of 2016, which represents a 42% reduction on an annualized basis relative to the 2015 capital spending. Even so, Bellatrix anticipates to maintain production at roughly 39,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day despite the massive reduction in capital expenditures. Shares of Bellatrix are down 62% in the past 12 months after dropping 16% year-to-date, whereas the entire independent oil and gas industry has gained 5.7% year-to-date. There were 10 money managers among those we track with stakes in Bellatrix, who stockpiled roughly 33% of the company’s shares. Daniel Lewis’ Orange Capital had 32.73 million shares of Bellatrix Exploration Ltd (NYSE:BXE) in its equity portfolio at the end of 2015.