Virgin Media Inc. (VMED), US Airways Group, Inc. (LCC): Billionaire George Soros’ First-Quarter Moves

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Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) gets the majority of revenue from the sale of advertising space. A big part of this is that the company has a dominant position in desktop search. Now the tech giant is looking to secure its position in the mobile segment with its Android OS. Google trades at 26 times earnings, which is actually well below its peers, and below the mid-point of its historical P/E range of 16.7 times to 41.2 times.

At the end of the first quarter, there were a total of 148 hedge funds long the stock. Billionaire Steve Mandel of Lone Pine Capital had the largest position in Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG), worth close to $1.1 billion and accounting for 5.8% of its total 13F portfolio (check out Mandel’s top picks).
Overvalued retail
Soros’ fund dumped 34% of its Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE:WMT) shares owned during the first quarter.  Although it is the world’s largest retailer, the company remains exposed to the broader economy. When you operate some 8,500 stores in 15 countries, under 55 different names, it can be tough to find new ways to grow. Thus, much of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE:WMT)‘s investment thesis comes down to valuation.
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE:WMT) is trading with a P/E of around 10.5 times, which is a 9% premium to the industry average of 9.6 times. Also, Wal-Mart’s P/B multiple is 3.2 times, a 66% premium to the industry average. What’s more  is that the company is expected to continue to see headwinds from competitive pressures related to e-commerce.
Don’t be fooled
Billionaire George Soros appears to be investing in the merger-arb game of late, with buys that include Liberty, Virgin Media Inc. (NASDAQ:VMED) and US Airways Group, Inc. (NYSE:LCC). I think the resulting company that will be Liberty Global Inc. (NASDAQ:LBTYA) (after the Virgin acquisition) will be a long-term buy given the company’s market positioning and complementary services.
However, although US Airways has some tailwinds, the joining together of American Airlines and US Airways Group, Inc. (NYSE:LCC) is another long-term positive for both companies. I think Google is also a buy given its dominant position in the search market, while Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE:WMT) appears to be appropriately valued, so wait for a pull back.

The article Billionaire George Soros’ First-Quarter Moves originally appeared on Fool.com.

Marshall is a member of The Motley Fool Blog Network — entries represent the personal opinion of the blogger and are not formally edited.

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