Nokia Corporation (NOK), Sears Holdings (SHLD) Citigroup (C): Chou Associates Management’s Top Picks for Q2

Chou’s position in Nokia Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:NOK) was also unchanged during the first quarter at an even 5.0 million shares. As with the previous holdings, his Nokia Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:NOK) holding also decreased in value, to $37.90 million. The Finnish smartphone manufacturer’s shares slid by 3.56% during the first quarter. Shares have rebounded thus far in the second quarter however, up by 5.5% after Nokia Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:NOK) announced the purchase of Alcatel Lucent SA (ADR) (NYSE:ALU) for $16.6 billion, a French telecommunications equipment company. Nokia is also reportedly trying to sell its HERE location-based maps business to Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL). Nokia has several bullish investors with large positions including billionaires Rob Citrone, David Einhorn, and Jim Simons.

While Chou’s position in Sears Holdings Corp (NASDAQ:SHLD) was yet again unchanged from the prevous quarter, it’s the first of his top picks that had a strong first quarter, rising by 25.47%, easily erasing the losses of the previous three holdings. Chou’s position of 896,088 shares increased to $37.08 million in value, nearing catching Nokia for third after trailing it by just under $10 million entering the first quarter. The Sears Holdings Corp (NASDAQ:SHLD) windfall was naturally good news for its biggest investor, who also happens to be the company’s chairman and CEO, ESL Investment’s Edward Lampert, who crushed the market in Q1 thanks to his The Sears Holdings Corp (NASDAQ:SHLD) position.

Chou’s final top pick we’ll look at goes back to his previous trend of being unchanged for the quarter and seeing its value decline. His position in Citigroup Inc (NYSE:C) stood at 410,000 shares valued at $21.13 million, down from a value of $22.19 million at the end of 2014 as Citigroup Inc (NYSE:C)’s shares dipped by 4.77%. Citigroup Inc (NYSE:C) was one of the many American companies ditched by billionaire David Tepper heading into the first quarter, though several other billionaire investors remained quite bullish on the financial services holding company, including Ken Fisher, Andreas Halvorsen, and Ken Griffin.

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