Stanley Druckenmiller went on a buying spree in the fourth quarter.
The legendary macro trader’s Duquesne Family Office initiated four new stakes that immediately became top-13 holdings. It also boosted stakes in several other existing positions, according to an analysis of a fourth-quarter 13F filing detailing U.S. common stock holdings.
Altogether, Druckenmiller held 74 different U.S. common stocks at year-end, the most ever in a quarter since he began filing on behalf of his family office nearly a decade ago. The common stock portfolio was valued at $3.55 billion at year-end, the highest amount in four quarters.
How much the family office manages in total or how the rest of the portfolio is invested cannot be determined through public information. But, at times, Druckenmiller provides some insight during interviews. For example, several weeks ago during a CNBC interview, Druckenmiller was optimistic about the market’s prospects in light of Donald Trump’s election.
“I’ve been doing this for 49 years, and we’re probably going from the most anti-business administration to the opposite,” Druckenmiller told the audience. “We do a lot of talking to CEOs and companies on the ground. And I’d say CEOs are somewhere between relieved and giddy. So we’re a believer in animal spirits.”
At the same time, he expressed concern about the longer term prospects for the stock market given the high level of bond yields, so he has remained short Treasuries. “I would say it’s complicated,” Druckenmiller explained. “You’re going to have this push of a strong economy versus bond yields rising in response to that strong economy, and that kind of makes me not have a strong opinion one way or the other.”
When it comes to stocks, Druckenmiller said he is looking at companies where artificial intelligence could reduce costs and boost productivity. He also seemed to support President Trump’s plan to implement, retain, or boost tariffs to raise revenues.
“We have a fiscal problem, we need revenues,” Druckenmiller said in the interview. “To me, tariffs are simply a consumption tax that foreigners pay for some of it. Now the risk is retaliation, but as long as we stay in the 10 percent range . . . I think the risks are overblown relative to the rewards.”
In any case, in the fourth quarter Duquesne increased its stake in Teva Pharmaceuticals by 530 percent, making it the family office’s fourth-largest U.S.-listed common stock long position. Natera, a genetic testing company, is by far the largest long position, accounting for roughly 15 percent of U.S. stocks. Chip maker Coherent and Woodward, which designs energy solutions for aerospace and industrial applications, are Nos. 2 and 3.
Meanwhile, Duquesne established four new investments that are now midsize positions. It initiated positions in United Airlines Holdings and footwear company Skechers, now its eighth- and tenth-largest longs, respectively. Amazon is the 11th-largest long and consumer finance company SLM Corp. the 13th-largest after Duquesne took stakes in the two companies in the fourth quarter.