Robertson held 324,500 shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) with a market value of $40.38 million at the end of the first quarter while Citrone held 4.65 million shares valued at $579.08 million, also down, from the 7.95 million shares that it held at the end of 2014. The Cupertino, California-based multinational technology company is not leaving anything to chance as it takes on the fierce global competition in the sector. As a result, the company has made numerous acquisitions, introduced several products, and improved on its products and services to maintain its lead in the American market and to penetrate other international markets. This year alone, the company has made at least five acquisitions and realized a 1.8% increase in market share between the months of January and April, maintaining its lead over competitors such as Samsung, Motorola, HTC, and LG. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is one of the few companies that has been able to sell premium-priced gargets in large numbers. The sale of iPhones during the first quarter of 2015, for example, hit a record 61.1 million, beating analysts’ estimates of 55 million, as well as the 43.7 million sold in the same quarter last year. The quarter also saw the company’s net income rise by 33% to $13.6 billion. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) remains among the most popular stocks with 20.50% of hedge funds we track having positions in it. The company recently sealed a distribution deal with Delhi-based Optiemus Group, a company also carrying out distribution activities for Samsung and HTC phones. At the end of the first quarter, a total of 150 hedge funds in our database had stakes in the stock, with an aggregate investment value of $21.52 billion. Of those hedge funds, billionaire Carl Icahn‘s Icahn Capital LP came on top with 52.76 million shares with a market value of $6.57 billion, followed by billionaire Ken Fisher’s Fisher Asset Management with 10.81 million shares valued at $1.35 billion.
Follow Rob Citrone's Discovery Capital Management
Lastly, Tiger Management and Discovery Capital Management both had stakes in Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB). Robertson held a total of 320,300 shares valued at $26.33 million while Citrone held 686,000 shares of the company, with a market value of $56.40 million, with the position being a new one for Citrone. The social media giant has dominated the social networking scene and now boasts of a user base of more than 1.4 billion active users every month for its core business, representing a 13% increase over the same quarter last year. Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) rolled out its mobile platform and has consolidated a massive user base for both its core app and some of its acquisitions such as WhatsApp, with 700 million users, and Instagram with 300 million active users. In an effort to expand its market and reach out to untouched geographical locations, the company is teaming up with Ericsson, Samsung, Nokia, and Qualcomm, Opera Software, and MediaTek to beam internet to such locations through their Internet.org initiative. There is however no gainsaying that the company has its share of challenges, including several user privacy battles and stiff competition from companies like Twitter Inc. Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) posted a 41.6% rise in revenue in its first quarter 2015 results compared to the same quarter in the previous fiscal year. However, its earnings per share declined by 28.0%, posting earnings per share of $0.42, though they still surpassed analysts’ consensus estimate of $0.40. At the end of the first quarter, a total of 129 hedge funds in our database, including 15 managed by billionaires funds, had stakes in the stock, accounting for $7.09 billion in investment. A few of these hedge funds are billionaire Stephen Mandel‘s Lone Pine Capital, Philippe Laffont’s Coatue Management, and D. E. Shaw, founded by billionaire D.E Shaw.
Disclosure: None
