Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway sold 460,000 Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (NYSE: TEVA; TASE: TEVA) shares in the first quarter of 2020. This is the first time that Berkshire Hathaway has sold Teva shares since building a position in the Israeli pharmaceutical company in late 2017 and early 2018.
Following the sale, Berkshire Hathaway is left with 42.8 million Teva shares (about 3.9% of Teva's shares in full dilution). At the end of the first quarter of 2020, the shares were worth $364 million, but Teva's recovery since then has brought their value up to $480 million.
In the first quarter of 2020, Teva's share price ranged between $6.65 and $13.45 so that the average price was $10.26. Berkshire Hathaway is not required to publish at what price it sold the shares but assuming the shares were sold at close to the average price that would make them worth just $4.7 million.
In any event, it is likely that the shares were sold for less than they were bought. During the period that Berkshire Hathaway built up its Teva stake, the share price moved between a range of $11.50 and $25.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on May 16, 2020
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