Here’s Why Billionaire John Paulson Loves This Canadian Gold Mining Stock

We recently covered billionaire Paulson's most favorite metals and mining stocks. Equinox Gold Corp (NYSE:EQX) made it to the list. In this article we take a closer look at the stock. But first, let's see what Paulson is up to these days.

Billionaire John Paulson made a strong comeback last year after suffering heavy losses from his healthcare bets in 2022. According to data from Bloomberg, Paulson's funds returned about 32% in 2023, driven by gains from some of the best-performing mining, healthcare and financial stocks. Bloomberg also said that the 68-year-old billionaire, who is one of Donald Trump's favorite candidates for the Treasury secretary role, was picking up momentum this year, with his funds gaining about $600 million in 2024 through mid-April.

Messy Divorce, Car Dealerships in Flames and Legal Battles

Paulson, worth about $3.5 billion, has been in the news for several reasons lately. He filed for divorce in 2021, and is still embroiled in the legal battle with his former wife. He recently got engaged to his 35-year-old girlfriend Alina de Almeida. Paulson is also busy in a legal battle with his former business partners as the billionaire's car dealerships in Puerto Rico were damaged in multiple fire eruptions.

But there's more to Paulson that these scandals and controversies. He made a name (and wealth) for himself with his prescient stock-picking skills and wisdom. Paulson started warning about the subprime mortgage crisis back in 2006 and betting against the housing market. In the first nine months of 2007, Paulson's Credit Opportunities funds jumped about 340%. Reports suggest that Paulson pocketed about $20 billion for himself and investors following the subprime mortgage bonds collapse.

A detailed report by journalist Anthony Effinger recalls one of Paulson's letters to investors written just before the subprime mortgage crisis:

“We expect credit performance of subprime mortgages to continue to deteriorate,” Paulson told investors in his first-quarter report, sent out in April. By the U.S. summer, mortgage securities were in full retreat. Paulson’s Credit Opportunities funds soared in value, rising 75.7 percent in July and 26.5 percent in August."

For this article we scanned Paulson & Co.'s Q1'2024 portfolio and picked top 9 metals & mining stocks Paulson is owning significant stakes in and ranked them by using the dollar amount invested by billionaire John Paulson. Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter's strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points (see more details here).

Equinox Gold Corp (NYSE:EQX)

Billionaire John Paulson Q1'2024 Stake Value: $15,050,000

Canadian-based mining company Equinox Gold Corp (NYSE:EQX) has been a rewarding investment for billionaire John Paulson, as the stock is up about 22% over the past one year. Paulson & Co. did not make any change to its position in Equinox Gold Corp (NYSE:EQX) during the first quarter, ending the period with a $15 million stake in Equinox Gold Corp (NYSE:EQX).

Earlier this month, Equinox Gold Corp (NYSE:EQX) reported first quarter results. Adjusted EPS in the quarter came in at -$0.04, beating estimates by $0.03. Revenue jumped 3.1% year over year $241.3 million, missing estimates by $25.7 million. Equinox Gold Corp (NYSE:EQX) produced 111,725 ounces of gold in the period. In 2024, Equinox Gold expects to produce 660,000 to 750,000 ounces of gold at cash costs of $1,340 to $1,445 per oz and AISC of $1,630 to $1,740 per oz.

Equinox Gold Corp (NYSE:EQX) ranks 7th in our list of Billionaire John Paulson's Top 9 Mining Stock Picks for 2024.

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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.