According to an article published on Insider Monkey a couple of months ago, David Tepper of Appaloosa Management Lp, Larry Robbins of Glenview Capital, and Michael Castor of Sio Capital are the three best hedge fund managers of 2013. So, as we continue to analyze the recently filed 13Fs for the second quarter of 2014, we would like to take a close look at Appaloosa Management’s top technology stock picks in order to find out which companies the fund is betting on.
Amongst technology stocks, Tepper seems to feel most bullish on Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG). Over the second quarter, the fund acquired 637,067 Class C shares, with a market value of more than $366 million. In addition, Mr. Tepper’s fund holds 442,259 Class A shares of Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL), worth more than $258 million.
Another major hedge fund betting on Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) is Lansdowne Partners, which upped its stake by 21% over the quarter, to 856,958 Class A shares, worth more than half a billion dollars. Moreover, the fund also acquired -over the quarter- 730,358 Class C shares, worth more than $420 million.
Second on our list – and 13th in Tepper’s equity portfolio, is Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB), the $194 billion market cap social networking company. Over the quarter, Appaloosa purchased 3.1 million shares of the company, taking its holding to 3.58 million shares, worth more than $241 million. The stake at Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) accounts for approximately 3.4% of the fund’s total equity portfolio.
Amongst the funds that we track, Philippe Laffont’s Coatue Management holds the largest long position at Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB), with 5.87 million shares, despite an 8% reduction in its exposure over the second quarter. Other big names betting on this tech giant are Ken Griffin (4.57 million shares) and Cliff Asness (4.28 million shares). Both these investors boosted their stakes between early-April and late-June.
Finally, there’s Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), the $597 billion market cap computers and devices manufacturer. Over the second quarter of the year, Appaloosa trimmed its stake in the tech behemoth by approximately 3%, and last disclosed ownership of 1.68 million shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), worth more than $156 million.
Hedge fund support for Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is plenty. Amongst the largest investors, we can count Carl Icahn of Icahn Capital LP, who owns or 52.76 million shares, worth more than $4.9 billion, D.E. Shaw, with 11.88 million shares, worth more than $1.1 billion, and Ken Fisher of Fisher Asset Management, with 10.74 million shares. These last two hedge fund managers boosted their wages in the company over the period.
Despite the above described hedge fund bullishness none of these companies count with Glenview Capital’s support, as its tech holdings are relatively small.
Disclosure: Javier Hasse holds no position in any stocks or funds mentioned
