David Tepper’s Appaloosa bought and sold Valeant shares in first quarter

NEW YORK David Tepper’s hedge-fund firm Appaloosa bought nearly 1 million shares in Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc in the first three months of 2016, according to regulatory filings, but sold them during the first quarter.

Shares of Valeant jumped 2 percent after filings revealed Appaloosa’s 945,000-share stake, but CNBC reported that the firm has already sold out of the position, citing a person familiar with the situation. A spokesman for Appaloosa declined to comment.

Despite a 10 percent reduction in its exposure, Appaloosa’s largest stake continued to be placed in SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust call options. Its 2.7 million SPY calls were valued at more than $555 million by the end of the quarter, and accounted for roughly 9.8 percent of its portfolio.

Hedge-fund SEC disclosures are backward-looking and come out 45 days after the end of each quarter. Still, the filings offer a glimpse into what hedge fund managers saw as investment opportunities.

The filings do not disclose short positions, or bets that a stock will fall. As a result, they do not always present a complete picture of a management firm’s stock holdings.

(Reporting By Jennifer Ablan- Editing by Bernard Orr)