In this article, we discuss 5 favorite stocks of billionaire Izzy Englander. If you want to see more stock picks of the billionaire, go see 10 Favorite Stocks of Billionaire Izzy Englander.
5. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)
Millennium Management’s Stake Value: $871,445,000
Percentage of Millennium Management’s 13F Portfolio: 0.44%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 262
Billionaire Izzy Englander, via Millennium Management, owned 2.5 million Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) shares in the December quarter, worth $871.4 million, representing 0.44% of the hedge fund’s total 13F portfolio. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) has featured on Izzy Englander’s portfolio since Q4 2010, and the billionaire elevated his stake by 45% in the fourth quarter of 2021.
Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)’s impending $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATVI) was contested on April 14 by SOC Investment Group, a minority stakeholder of Activision. SOC Group believes that Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is not fairly valuing the company, and instead of a merger, a replacement of Activision’s board would be a better option for the company. The acquisition will be contested formally at the stockholder meeting on April 28.
On April 12, Morgan Stanley analyst Keith Weiss maintained an Overweight recommendation on Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) and a $372 price target on the shares. The company is focused on “strong positioning across key growth and defensible spending categories”, which the analyst believes should help negate the effects of a volatile macro backdrop.
Ken Fisher’s Fisher Asset Management is the largest shareholder of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), with 26.8 million shares worth over $9 billion. Overall, 262 hedge funds were long Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) in Q4 2021, up from 250 funds in the earlier quarter.
Here is what Baron Opportunity Fund has to say about Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) in its Q4 2021 investor letter:
“Shares of Microsoft Corporation, a cloud-software leader and provider of software productivity tools and infrastructure, rose during the quarter, following a strong earnings report highlighting solid demand for its broad product stack and continued momentum migrating its business to the cloud. Microsoft’s results continued to be strong across the board, with total revenue growing 20% in constant currency, beating Street estimates by 3%; an acceleration in Commercial Cloud revenue to 34% constant-currency growth; operating margins expanding to just under 45%; earnings growth of 23%; and free cash flow growth of 30%. We believe the company is positioned to deliver 13% to 15% organic growth over the next three years, underpinned by total addressable market expansion and continued market share gains across its disruptive cloud product portfolio.”
4. Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN)
Millennium Management’s Stake Value: $981,970,000
Percentage of Millennium Management’s 13F Portfolio: 0.49%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 279
Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) is one of the top favorite stocks of Izzy Englander. The billionaire increased his Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) stake in Q4 2021 by 78%, holding 294,502 shares worth approximately $982 million. The stock has consistently featured on Izzy Englander’s Millennium Management portfolio since Q3 2017, but the billionaire first invested in the shares back in the last quarter of 2010.
Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) reported its fourth quarter results on February 3, posting earnings per share of $27.65, topping analysts’ predictions by $24.09. Revenue over the period jumped 9.44% year-over-year to $137.41 billion, but still fell short of analysts’ predictions by $173.16 million.
On March 25, Evercore ISI analyst Mark Mahaney maintained an Outperform recommendation on Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) and a $4,300 price target, while “modestly” elevating his FY23 and FY24 EPS estimates above the Street consensus. He calls Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) his top mega cap internet idea.
According to Insider Monkey’s Q4 data, 279 hedge funds were bullish on Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), compared to 242 funds in the prior quarter. Boykin Curry’s Eagle Capital Management is a significant stakeholder of the company, with 677,828 shares worth $2.26 billion.
Here is what Mercator International Opportunity Fund has to say about Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) in its Q4 2021 investor letter:
“Transformative technologies often generate euphoria. People are excited by the big new thing that is changing the world. We saw this pattern with the boom of westward canal transportation at the dawn of the nineteenth century. Railway stocks similarly attracted large numbers of eager investors a few decades later. Then came the electrification of America, the telephone, and the automobile industry, to name just a few transformative technologies.
The initial euphoric phase always ends with a reality check. Valuations come back to earth. At the end of the cycle, only a few companies remain standing. A shakeout has a way of clarifying the field of opportunities.
For example, readers may recall that when the internet bubble burst two decades ago, Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) stock suffered greatly but pet.com was gone. For those investors who had stayed on the sidelines, this was an excellent time to buy Amazon. The company’s business model had shown its merits and competition was rapidly shrinking. The stock price was now also much more attractive.”
3. NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA)
Millennium Management’s Stake Value: $1,145,944,000
Percentage of Millennium Management’s 13F Portfolio: 0.58%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 110
NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) is a California-based multinational technology company that operates in the computer software and hardware, cloud computing, semiconductors, and artificial intelligence sectors. Izzy Englander’s hedge fund owns 3.8 million shares of NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) as of Q4 2021, worth $1.14 billion, representing 0.58% of the total 13F holdings. Millennium Management increased its NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) stake by 259% in the December quarter.
NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA)’s fourth quarter financial results were posted on February 16, and the company reported earnings per share of $1.32, beating estimates by $0.10. The $7.64 billion revenue jumped 52.77% year-over-year, outperforming market consensus by $213.41 million.
On April 13, New Street analyst Pierre Ferragu upgraded NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) to Buy from Neutral with a price target of $280, citing an attractive valuation, higher visibility on the “crypto-winter risk”, and the company’s strong datacenter outlook.
Among the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey at the end of Q4 2021, 110 funds were bullish on NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA), compared to 83 funds in the prior quarter. Peter Rathjens, Bruce Clarke, and John Campbell’s Arrowstreet Capital held a prominent position in the company, with more than 3 million shares worth $910.2 million.
Here is what ClearBridge Investments Global Growth Strategy has to say about NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) in its Q4 2021 investor letter:
“ClearBridge Investments, an investment management firm, published its “Global Growth Strategy” fourth quarter 2021 investor letter – a copy of which can be downloaded here. During the fourth quarter, the ClearBridge Global Growth Strategy outperformed its MSCI ACWI benchmark. The Strategy delivered gains across eight of the nine sectors in which it was invested (out of 11 total), with the information technology (IT) and industrials sectors the primary contributors. The communication services sector was the sole detractor. Spare some time to check the fund’s top 5 holdings to have a clue about their top bets for 2022. Bucking the headwinds among our emerging growth names was Nvidia, which saw continued sales momentum from their leadership positions in the key growth areas of graphics processing units for gaming and data centers.”
2. Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA)
Millennium Management’s Stake Value: $1,172,399,000
Percentage of Millennium Management’s 13F Portfolio: 0.59%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 91
Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) made it to the list of Izzy Englander’s favorite stocks, with his hedge fund increasing its Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) stake by 522% in Q4 2021. Millennium Management owns 1.10 million shares of the company, worth $1.17 billion, representing 0.59% of the fund’s total 13F holdings.
Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA)’s 2021 revenue came in at $53.8 billion, compared to $31.5 billion in the earlier year. The company’s net income for 2021 stood at $5.5 billion, a solid increase from the 2020 income of $690 million.
On April 8, Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives kept an Outperform rating on Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) and a $1,400 price target on the company. The analyst noted that Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA)’s flagship plant will create 10,000 job opportunities, and the company plans to build the Cybertruck in 2023, as well as the Semi, Model 3, and the core Model Y.
According to the hedge fund database of Insider Monkey, 91 funds reported owning stakes worth roughly $13 billion in Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) at the end of the fourth quarter of 2021. Cathie Wood’s ARK Investment Management is a significant stakeholder of the company, with 1.92 million shares valued at more than $2 billion.
Here is what ClearBridge Investments Global Growth Strategy has to say about Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) in its Q4 2021 investor letter:
“Within the growth universe we target, emerging growth stocks – the category with the highest revenue growth rates – significantly underperformed the overall growth categories in 2021 after leading performance in 2020. The pull-through effect on digitization, online access across industries, and spending to modernize outdated corporate infrastructures accelerated trends in a highly compressed time frame. Much of that trend slackened in 2021 and shares of these companies, while showing good top-line growth, saw slowing appreciation from the blistering pace in the prior year. With that moderating growth, multiples decelerated from 2020 highs. Bucking the headwinds among our emerging growth names was Tesla which saw continued sales momentum from their leadership positions in the key growth areas of electric vehicles.”
1. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)
Millennium Management’s Stake Value: $1,493,900,000
Percentage of Millennium Management’s 13F Portfolio: 0.75%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 134
Izzy Englander boosted his Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) stake by 272% in the fourth quarter of 2021, holding 8.4 million shares of the company, worth $1.49 billion. The stock accounts for 0.75% of Millennium Management’s total 13F holdings.
On April 12, Citi analyst Jim Suva reiterated a Buy rating on Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) with a $200 price target, noting that the company could boost its share repurchase program between $80 billion and $90 billion and elevate its dividend between 5% and 10% in the Q1 earnings release next month.
According to Insider Monkey’s database, hedge fund sentiment around Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) was largely bullish. The fourth quarter data maintained by Insider Monkey suggests that 134 funds were long Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), compared to 120 funds in the previous quarter. Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway held the biggest position in the company, with more than 887 million shares worth $157.5 billion.
Here is what ClearBridge Investments Global Growth Strategy has to say about Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) in its Q4 2021 investor letter:
“Despite these mixed emerging growth results, the ClearBridge Global Growth Strategy outperformed the benchmark due to resilience among our secular and structural growth holdings. The bulk of these contributions came from U.S. mega-cap growth stocks Apple and Microsoft which continued to uniquely act both offensively and defensively as they have through most of the pandemic.”
You can also take a look at 10 Best Stocks to Buy Now According to Billionaire Nicholas Pritzker’s Tao Capital and 10 Best Micro-Cap Stocks to Buy According to Hedge Funds.
