Hedge Funds Shunt Apple Inc. (AAPL) For Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (BABA): Charles Payne

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (NYSE:BABA) remained the most sought after stock by hedge funds in the third quarter with Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) turning out to be the most offloaded. Fox Business Charles Payne believes the poor performance registered by hedge funds this year has to do with poor investment decisions that were made in the process of acquiring stakes in other companies.

“A lot of these funds they wanted to lock in profits on Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) the ones that had that, but the others the once that are suffering. The majority of them gone for the Hayley Marie “said Mr. Payne.

Alibaba remained the most sought after stock in the third quarter with big institutional investors buying stakes in the company valued at $227 million; Liberty Media Corp (NASDAQ:LMCA) came in second with 48 million worth of stakes transacted. The rush for Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (NYSE:BABA) came in the wake of its much-publicized IPO that recouped a total of $25 billion making it one of the biggest on U.S soil.

Institutional investors also made a rush to offload stakes in Apple in the wake of the giant hardware and software company unveiling iPhone 6. Institutional investors offloaded stakes in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) in the wake of the company trading at highs of $100 in the market.

Buying of stakes in Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (NYSE:BABA) seems to have paid off as the stock has rallied from the lows of $68 a share at the day of the IPO to the current highs of $115. Investors continue to remain hopeful that the company could soar in the next three years allowing the giant Chinese company surpasses Apple as the biggest publicly traded company.

Decision to offload stakes in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) might not have been the best according to Payne as the stock continues to show clear indications of surging even higher in the market. The spread of Apple Pay to new emerging markets, as well as a possible merger with Alipay, also heightens possibility of the stock surging further.

Free Report: Warren Buffett and 12 Billionaires Are Crazy About These 7 Stocks

Let Warren Buffett, David Einhorn, George Soros, and David Tepper WORK FOR YOU. If you want to beat the low cost index funds by an average of 6 percentage points per year look no further than Warren Buffett’s stock picks. That’s the margin Buffett’s stock picks outperformed the market since 2008. In this free report, Insider Monkey’s market beating research team identified 7 stocks Warren Buffett and 12 other billionaires are crazy about. CLICK HERE NOW