CNBC doesn’t seem to be reporting my fund’s holdings. I wonder why that is? Instead we’ve got the latest 13-f reports for a slate of mega-managers like Dan Loeb, George Soros, and Tiger Cub Chase Coleman. There’s a lot of interesting stuff in these reports and I’ll get to some of the more interesting points in a second. But first: is Yahoo in trouble?
If you’re immersed enough in the financial media you’ll be aware of the massive upcoming IPO of Alibaba, the Chinese e-commerce giant. And in between all of the talk about its eccentric founder Jack Ma and just how massive the company actually is, we’re told repeatedly that this is good news for Yahoo. Melissa Mayer’s shop owns a chunk of the business and will undoubtedly cash in on the IPO but no one is quite sure how to valuate Yahoo’s stake.
What’s disconcerting is this: many of the hedge fund managers that have championed Yahoo during its recovery run have jumped ship. Commonsense suggests that you don’t close out your entire position if you have a windfall of cash coming. Could they know something we don’t? Nooooo…maybe. Probably?
Mega-managers dumping their entire Yahoo! steaks:
- Dan Loeb of Third Point Capital
- Chase “quit calling me Tiger Cub” Coleman’s Tiger Global Management
- George Soros’s family office
- And a few smaller names I’ve never heard of
Other interesting mega-manager moves:
- Chase Coleman’s firm dumped all of Groupon while Jana Partners significantly increased their position
- John Paulson, Dan Loeb and either Warren Buffet (I doubt it) or one of his two “stock picking generals” opened up large positions in Verizon Wireless. Berkshire’s position is just north of $500mm — By contrast, David Tepper closed out his position in Verizon.
- Mr. Nervous David Tepper added to Disney and Priceline.com – interesting since he’s so cautious and tech has taken it on the chin recently
- Tepper also initiated new stakes in Facebook and Expedia
- Carl Ichan grew his stake in eBay and Apple while decreasing his stake in Netflix.
- Buffett increased his positions in his “Big Four” stocks – IBM, Coke, American Express, and Wells Fargo
I’ll add to this as I come across anything else of note.
UPDATE: A disclaimer for those unacquainted with a 13-f: this disclosure has to be submitted within 45 days of the end of the most recent quarter. They don’t require disclosure of entry price or date of entry – that is a significant gap in knowledge. So take this all cautiously.
