4 Reasons Leon Cooperman Sells A Stock

Leon Cooperman, Wall Street pioneer and chairman of Omega Advisors, appeared on CNBC Wednesday.

The reporters held on to his every word regarding his current take on the market, as the financial mogul shared his perspectives. Cooperman said his firm's exposure to equities is unusually low, around 65 percent, compared to the firm's typical 85–90 percent exposure.

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He also listed some his top holdings, including:

• Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ: GOOG) (NASDAQ: GOOGL).
• Allergan plc Ordinary Shares (NYSE: AGN).
• Navient Corp (NASDAQ: NAVI).
• United Continental Holdings Inc (NYSE: UAL).
• American International Group Inc (NYSE: AIG).
• First Data Corp (NYSE: FDC) — which he feels is heavily undervalued due to the company's low multiple.

Cooperman also said that he sold his stake in Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX), although he feels a takeover is still possible.

The Omega Advisors chairman and CEO said he sells a stock for four reasons:

1. The Highest Quality Reason: "We bought a stock at X. We thought it was worth Y. It gets to Y, nothing has changed, and then we sell it."
2. Stay On The Company: "Talk to the competition. Talk to suppliers. Talk to the company. Try to see what you can understand and learn, and sometimes things aren't unfolding as you are anticipating [...] let's get out before we get murdered."
3. Have To Sell To Buy: "We are not the federal reserve board; we cannot keep buying without selling. So, if we develop an idea that has a ratio of reward to risk more attractive than something in the portfolio, we might rotate out of one name and go into another name."
4. Change Your Mind About The Market: "The fourth reason we sell is if we change our mind about the market, and you become defensive. You have to reduce your exposure."

Leon Cooperman, with his reported net worth of $3.2 billion, remains one of the most influential names on Wall Street.

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