Carl Icahn Portfolio Update: Q4 2008

While we don't normally cover Carl Icahn's movements in-depth on the blog (maybe we should?), generally, we do like to keep tabs on him and cover all of his major moves. If you're unfamiliar with Icahn, he is a hedge fund manager, but more well known as a 'corporate raider' and 'rabble-rouser' for his activist ways. He takes on such a role trying to incite change within companies to unlock shareholder value, and last year, he even started a blog to discuss numerous topics.

With the most recent 13F filings out disclosing his holdings as of December 31, 2008, we see some noticeable changes.

Some of the companies he sold out of completely:

• Advanced Micro Devices (AMD)
• Lear Corp (LEA)
• JC Penney (JCP)
• Temple Inland (TIN)
• Time Warner (TWX)

Some of the companies where he added to his position:

• Williams (WMB)
• Yahoo (YHOO)

Some of the companies where he sold off part of his position:

• Anadarko Petroleum (APC)
• Motorola (MOT)

He has a massive position in Biogen Idec (BIIB) and the theory here is that the company could be bought out by another company in biotech/biopharma land. His other large holding in this sector is Amylin Pharmaceuticals (AMLN). At the time of filing, Yahoo, Biogen and Motorola were his top three holdings.

We're in the midst of our hedge fund portfolio tracking series, which keeps an eye on some of the big money. We've already covered hedge fund Paulson & Co. and will be covering a different fund each day.

Comments

[Furd Turgeson:]

When times are great, Icahn will thrive because even the terribly run companies go up in value and breed M&A activity. Obviously, when the economy sours, Icahn gets pummeled because most of his investments are in poor companies with dying business models and lack of innovation. Icahn's portfolio is way too concentrated, in bad companies. If the recession continues or gets worse, he is in big trouble.

Feb 19 12:13 PM