Last week, the Opportunity Equity strategy gained 2.59%, underperforming the S&P 500’s 2.90% rise (Exhibit 1). The strategy ended the week down -9.65% YTD, or 445 basis points behind the S&P 500.
Exhibit 1: Preliminary Performance of Opportunity Equity Strategy Versus S&P 500, Through 12/28/181
| Time Period | Opportunity Equity | S&P 500 |
| Last Week (12/21 - 12/28) | 2.59% | 2.90% |
| MTD | -18.69% | -9.81% |
| QTD | -26.68% | -14.26% |
| YTD | -9.65% | -5.20% |
| Inception (annualized since 6/26/00) | 6.18% | 4.97% |
Source: Bloomberg, Miller Value Partners
Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) rose over the week after the company announced this holiday season to be “record-breaking” with more items ordered worldwide than ever before. Facebook Inc. (FB) was up for the week with Citron Research issuing a price target of $160 for the company, upside of 52%. There was minimal news on the other top contributors.
Exhibit 2: Significant Contributors to Performance, 12/21/18 - 12/28/18
| Name | Type | Return |
| Amazon.com Inc. | Equity | 7.3% |
| RH | Equity | 5.0% |
| Facebook Inc. | Equity | 6.6% |
| OneMain Holdings Inc. | Equity | 4.4% |
| Bausch Health Companies | Equity | 3.8% |
Source: Miller Value Partners
Ziopharm Oncology Inc. (ZIOP) fell over the week. The company issued a press release clarifying their exclusive rights to the Sleeping Beauty TCR-T cell therapy with the NCI, the Sleeping Beauty CD19 CAR-T at MD Anderson Cancer Center and Ad-RTS-hIL-12 plus veledimex in multi-center trials. They expect all three programs to be in the clinic in 2019. Newell Brands (NWL) completed the divestitures of Pure Fishing and Jostens with gross proceeds from both transactions totaling $2.6B which will be used for debt paydown and share repurchase. There was minimal news on the other top detractors.
Exhibit 3: Significant Detractors from Performance, 12/21/18 - 12/28/18
| Name | Type | Return |
| Endo International plc | Equity | -3.0% |
| Ziopharm Oncology Inc. | Equity | -16.6% |
| Newell Brands | Equity | -2.6% |
| Discovery Inc. | Equity | -1.6% |
| ADT Inc. | Equity | -1.6% |
Source: Miller Value Partners
1The performance figures reflect the results of a representative account net of management fee and certain other expenses. For important additional information about Opportunity Equity performance, please click on the Opportunity Equity Composite Performance Disclosure. The performance returns shown in this report are preliminary and are subject to revision. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.
Significant Contributors and Significant Detractors are the Strategy holdings that had the greatest effect on Strategy performance for the week. Holdings that have been in the Strategy since the end of the most recent calendar quarter are identified by name. For information on how Contributor/Detractor data were calculated and a list showing the contribution to the Strategy's weekly performance of each investment held at such quarter end, contact us.
Any views expressed are subject to change at any time, and Miller Value Partners disclaims any responsibility to update such views. The information presented should not be considered a recommendation to purchase or sell any security and should not be relied upon as investment advice. It should not be assumed that any purchase or sale decisions will be profitable or will equal the performance of any security mentioned. Past performance is no guarantee of future results, and there is no guarantee dividends will be paid or continued. Content may not be reprinted, republished or used in any manner without written consent from Miller Value Partners.
©2018 Miller Value Partners, LLC
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