market folly

John Paulson's hedge fund firm Paulson & Co has filed a 13D with the SEC regarding its stake in Valeant Pharmaceuticals (VRX).  Per the filing, Paulson & Co now owns 6% of VRX with 20.83 million shares (but note this excludes cash-settled swaps representing economic exposure comparable to 259,500 additional shares of common stock).

This means they reduced their position size by just under one million shares since June when they previously disclosed a prior sale as well.  The latest filing was made due to portfolio activity on August 9th and they sold at $14.6595.

We've highlighted other recent portfolio activity from Paulson & Co here.

Per Google Finance, Valeant Pharmaceuticals is "a pharmaceutical and medical device company. The Company is engaged in developing and marketing a range of branded, generic and branded generic pharmaceuticals, over-the-counter (OTC) products, and medical devices (contact lenses, intraocular lenses, ophthalmic surgical equipment, and aesthetics devices). It operates through two segments: Developed markets and Emerging markets. In the Developed Markets segment, it focuses on the areas of dermatology, neurology, gastrointestinal disorders, and eye health therapeutic classes. In the Emerging Markets segment, it focuses on primarily on branded generics, OTC products and medical devices. Its pharmaceutical products include Xifaxan, Solodyn and Glumetza. Its OTC products include PreserVision, Biotrue and Boston. Its other generic products include Latanoprost and Metronidazole. Its ophthalmic surgical products include intraocular lenses, such as Akreos, enVista, Crystalens and Trulign."