Billionaire Leon Cooperman’s Big Moves On Valeant, Facebook, GM, More

Shares of General Motors Company (NYSE:GM) are also up by about 20% in the fourth quarter, however Cooperman is not benefiting from those gains, as he closed his GM position during the third quarter, one of the largest positions he exited. On June 30, Cooperman held over 3.66 million General Motors Company (NYSE:GM) shares, which ranked the stock as one of his top-20 holdings. It’s somewhat surprising to see a value investor like Cooperman sell off a cheap stock like GM at a discount, as he had just doubled the position in the second quarter when it was trading much higher. Even after its fourth quarter rebound, shares still look cheap trading at just 6.6-times forward earnings and sport a dividend yield of nearly 4%. Billionaire David Tepper sold off some of his GM stake during the third quarter, but the stock still ranked as his top pick.

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) was the top addition to Cooperman’s portfolio during the third quarter, as he bought 4.83 million shares of the pharmaceutical giant. With shares of Pfizer taking a big dip in the third quarter amid both the broader market selloff and then the healthcare sector selloff that followed, it appears Cooperman felt the opportunity to invest in the maker of Viagra and Lyrica, among other drugs, at a discount was too good to pass up. Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) has one of the lowest price-to-book ratios among major drug producers at just 2.90 and one of the highest operating margins at 25.66%. Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) also ranks as one of the stocks that matter most to financial advisors, coming in at #11. D.E. Shaw, founded by billionaire David E. Shaw, bought 5.33 million Pfizer shares during the quarter, while Rob Citrone purchased 9.64 million shares, taking up a new position in the stock.

Lastly, we come to embattled Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl Inc (NYSE:VRX), in which Cooperman took a new stake during the third quarter, of 484,915 shares worth $86.50 million. Unlike Pfizer, Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl Inc (NYSE:VRX) was at the center of the healthcare drug pricing storm that hit the sector, and has been unable to rebound from its horrendous losses thus far, which now amount to a staggering 71% over the past three months. The tumble has pushed the firm’s forward P/E down to a miniscule 3.5, which appears to make it quite the bargain. However, investors fear those forward earnings may be seriously impacted by future regulation because of Valeant’s business model of acquiring companies and raising the prices on their drugs, which is why they remain cautious towards the stock. Famed investor Bill Ackman has notably been clobbered by the Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl Inc (NYSE:VRX) losses, which the mainstream media has gleefully reported on at every turn.

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