Advertisement
Singapore markets closed
  • Straits Times Index

    3,224.01
    -27.70 (-0.85%)
     
  • Nikkei

    40,168.07
    -594.66 (-1.46%)
     
  • Hang Seng

    16,541.42
    +148.58 (+0.91%)
     
  • FTSE 100

    7,952.62
    +20.64 (+0.26%)
     
  • Bitcoin USD

    70,686.49
    +1,589.27 (+2.30%)
     
  • CMC Crypto 200

    885.54
    0.00 (0.00%)
     
  • S&P 500

    5,251.41
    +2.92 (+0.06%)
     
  • Dow

    39,768.85
    +8.77 (+0.02%)
     
  • Nasdaq

    16,378.46
    -21.07 (-0.13%)
     
  • Gold

    2,240.30
    +27.60 (+1.25%)
     
  • Crude Oil

    82.91
    +1.56 (+1.92%)
     
  • 10-Yr Bond

    4.2060
    +0.0100 (+0.24%)
     
  • FTSE Bursa Malaysia

    1,530.60
    -7.82 (-0.51%)
     
  • Jakarta Composite Index

    7,288.81
    -21.28 (-0.29%)
     
  • PSE Index

    6,903.53
    +5.36 (+0.08%)
     

Here's what the biggest hedge funds have been buying and selling

The stock trades that the biggest hedge fund managers made in the first quarter have been revealed.

Hedge funds of a certain minimum size are required to disclose their long stock holdings in filings to the SEC known as 13-Fs. Of course, the filings only provide a partial picture since they do not show short positions or wagers on commodities and currencies. What’s more is these filings come out 45 days after the end of each quarter, so it’s possible they could have traded in and out of the positions.

Still, it does provide a partial look into where some of the top money managers have been placing money in the stock market.

Facebook gains friends

Facebook’s stock was featured prominently in the news during the first quarter after the Cambridge Analytica data breach scandal came to light and CEO Mark Zuckerberg was grilled on Capitol Hill. Still, many hedge funds grabbed shares of the social network.

ADVERTISEMENT

Tiger Global, led by Chase Coleman, added 2,545,238 more shares of Facebook (FB). Coleman’s fund is a “Tiger cub,” or a hedge fund that was seeded by legendary hedge fund manager Julian Robertson of Tiger Management.

Billionaire “Tiger cub” Andreas Halvorsen’s Viking Global also loaded up on Facebook during the first quarter, adding 5.5 million more shares, bringing the entire stake north of 9.3 million shares. Fellow “Tiger cub” billionaire Rob Citrone of Discovery Capital also added to his Facebook stake, buying 806,600 more shares, bringing the fund’s position to 1.37 million shares. Citrone’s Discover Capital also bought calls on 2.3 million Facebook shares. Facebook remained the No. 1 position for Viking and Discovery.

Daniel Loeb, the activist hedge fund manager and CEO of Third Point, added another 600,000 shares to his existing Facebook stake, bringing the total position to 4 million shares at the end of the quarter. David Tepper, the founder of Appaloosa, also boosted his Facebook stake, adding 680,559 more shares to last hold just over 6.2 million at the end of the quarter.

Daniel S. Loeb, founder of Third Point LLC. (REUTERS/Steve Marcus)
Daniel S. Loeb, founder of Third Point LLC. (REUTERS/Steve Marcus)

Activist hedge fund manager Barry Rosenstein’s JANA Partners sold its entire stake in Facebook, dropping 473,526 shares in the quarter. Billionaire Stanley Druckenmiller’s family-office hedge fund Duquesne Capital sold its entire Facebook stake of 1.08 million shares.

Dropping Apple

Tepper’s Appaloosa and Larry Robbins’s Glenview Capital both exited their Apple (AAPL) stakes in the first quarter. Philippe Laffont’s Coatue sold just over half of its Apple stake during the quarter.

Bloomberg noted that institutional investors abandoned Apple at a rate not seen since 2008.

Meanwhile, Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway added nearly 75 million shares of Apple during the first quarter, bringing the entire stake to just over 239.5 million shares, a position valued at more than $44.6 billion as of Tuesday’s close.

Out of Amazon and into Alibaba

E-commerce was another area that saw a bunch of moves among the hedge funds.

Discovery Capital ditched all of its Amazon (AMZN) shares during the first quarter. Viking Global also shed most of its Amazon stake, selling 482,469, or about 93% of the position. Viking last held 35,751 shares of the e-commerce giant.

Meanwhile, Viking initiated a new position in Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba (BABA), snapping up 2.2 million shares. Citrone’s Discovery Capital also boosted its Alibaba stake.

Andreas Halvorsen, CEO and a co-founder of Viking Global Investors. (Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
Andreas Halvorsen, CEO and a co-founder of Viking Global Investors. (Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)

Lee Ainslie, another “Tiger cub and the founder of Maverick Capital, also added to Alibaba.

Loeb’s Third Point trimmed its Alibaba stake, selling 2 million shares to last hold 4 million of the e-commerce giant. Tepper’s Appaloosa also slightly pared back its Alibaba stake. The position remained a top 5 long equity holding for both Loeb and Tepper.

Cutting cable

Cable providers also saw some action. Laffont’s Coatue and Halvorsen’s Viking Global both bailed on Time Warner (TWX), dumping their entire positions during the first quarter. Loeb’s Third Point sold 2 million shares of Time Warner and instead purchased call options on 2 million shares.

Rosenstein’s JANA Partners, Julian Robertson’s Tiger Management, and Tiger Global closed their stakes in Comcast (CMCSA).

Healthcare moves

And lastly, healthcare stocks, which have been in the news frequently during the first quarter, gained favor among the hedge funds.

Billionaire Leon Cooperman’s Omega Advisors and Julian Robertson’s Tiger Management disclosed new positions in UnitedHealth Group (UNH). Rosenstein’s JANA Partners also snapped up a new position in Anthem (ANTM), while Robertson’s Tiger Management trimmed its stake by about half.

Billionaire Larry Robbins, the founder of Glenview Capital, disclosed a new stake in Express Scripts (ESRX). Robbins pitched Express Scripts as a long idea at the Sohn Conference earlier this month while downplaying the threat that Amazon poses to the healthcare industry, specifically the pharmaceutical sector.

Loeb’s Third Point exited its position in health insurer Aetna (AET), selling 1.85 million shares.

Below is a roundup of the biggest funds’ first quarter moves:

Appaloosa Management (David Tepper)
New: Wells Fargo (WFC)
Boosted: Micron Technologies (MU), Facebook (FB), Allergan (AGN)
Exited: Apple (AAPL)

Baupost Group (Seth Klarman)
New: PG&E (PCG), Tesla (TSLA) (PRN)
Boosted: Pioneer Natural Resources (PXD), 21st Century Fox (FOXA)
Trimmed: Amerisource Bergen (ABC)
Exited: Express Scripts (ESRX)

Coatue Management (Philippe Laffont)
New: Micron Technologies (MU), TAL Education (TAL)
Boosted: Twitter (TWTR)
Trimmed: Apple (AAPL), Nvidia (NVDA), Netflix (NFLX), Snap Inc. (SNAP)
Exited: Bank of America (BAC), Time Warner (TWX), Alphabet (GOOGL)

Discovery Capital (Rob Citrone)
New: iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (EEM)
Boosted: Alibaba (BABA), Facebook (FB)
Exited: Amazon(AMZN), Bank of America (BAC)

Duquesne Capital (Stanley Druckenmiller)
New: Micron Technologies, Alibaba, Netflix
Exited: Facebook, Wells Fargo

Glenview Capital (Larry Robbins)
New: Express Scripts (ESRX), FedEx (FDX), Facebook
Trimmed: Anthem
Exited: Apple (AAPL)

JANA Partners (Barry Rosenstein)
New: Anthem (ANTM), AutoDesk (ADSK)
Boosted: Pinnacle Foods (PF), Jack In The Box (JACK)
Exited: Facebook (FB), Comcast (CMCSA)

Maverick Capital (Lee Ainslie)
New:
Mohawk Industries (MHK)
Boosted:
Alphabet (GOOG), Alibaba (BABA), Intel, Lowe’s (LOW)
Trimmed:
Molson Coors (TAP)

Marcato Capital (Mick McGuire)
New: Univar (UNVR), Astec Industries (ASTE)
Boosted: InterActiveCorp (IAC)
Exited: Sotheby’s (BID)

Omega Advisors (Leon Cooperman)
New: Thermo Fisher (TMO), UnitedHealth
Boosted: United Continental (UAL), Citigroup (C)
Trimmed: Shire (SHPG)
Exited: Zynga (ZNGA)

Pershing Square Capital (Bill Ackman)
New: United Technologies (UTX)
Trimmed: Restaurant Brands (QSR), Mondelez (MDLZ), ADP (ADP), Howard Hughes (HHC)
Exited: Nike (NKE)

Third Point LLC (Daniel Loeb)
New: United Technologies, Wynn Resorts (WYNN)
Boosted: Facebook, TimeWarner (TWX) (CALL)
Exited: Aetna (AET), TimeWarner (TWX)

Tiger Global (Chase Coleman)
New: Twitter (TWTR)
Boosted: Facebook, Netflix (NFLX)
Exited: Comcast (CMCSA), Alphabet (GOOGL) (GOOG)

Tiger Management (Julian Robertson)
New: Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) (CALL), UnitedHealth Group (UNH), Workday (WDAY), eBay (EBAY)
Boosted: JPMorgan Chase (JPM)
Trimmed: Anthem (ANTM)
Exited: Comcast (CMCSA), S&P500 SPDR ETF (SPY) (PUT)

Viking Global (Andreas Halvorsen)
New: Alibaba (BABA)
Boosted: Facebook (FB), Wells Fargo (WFC), Anthem
Trimmed: Amazon (AMZN)
Existed: TimeWarner (TWX)


Julia La Roche is a finance reporter at Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter.