Billionaire DE Shaw’s Latest Portfolio: Top 5 Stock Picks

In this article, we will be taking a look at billionaire DE Shaw’s latest portfolio: top 5 stock picks. To read our detailed analysis of these stocks and Shaw’s investment insights, you can go directly to see Billionaire DE Shaw’s Latest Portfolio: Top 10 Stock Picks.

5. Paypal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL)

DE Shaw’s Stake Value: $595,598,000

Percentage of DE Shaw’s 13F Portfolio: 0.69%

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 97

Paypal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) is an information technology company operating a platform enabling digital payments. The company offers payment solutions under various names, like PayPal, PayPal Credit, and Braintree.

On August 31, Jason Kupferberg at BofA upgraded shares of Paypal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) from Neutral to Buy. The analyst also raised his price target on the stock from $94 to $114.

Paypal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) gained by 2.8% in light of BofA’s upgrade. Kupferberg noted that the move came in light of cost savings and the potential for share buybacks undertaken by the company.

Paypal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) was found in the 13F holdings of 97 hedge funds in the second quarter. Their total stake value in the company was $5.2 billion.

Mayar Capital, an asset management firm, mentioned Paypal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) in its second quarter 2022 investor letter. Here’s what they said:

“This quarter, we bought shares in PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL), the payments platform. PayPal has been one of the more high-profile victims of the market’s brutal ruthlessness over the past few months, and the stock fell by over two thirds between its peak in July to the beginning of March this year. As we progressed PayPal through the Mayar Checklist Process, we identified a business with a leadership position in a structurally growing market.

The company benefits from certain network effects, and faces several competitive threats at the same time. As the business profited from the move to online retail during the pandemic, as well as from the stimulus cheques handed out in the US, the stock price soared to absurd levels. As so often happens, however, the market had overcorrected by February and this quarter was offering prospective shareholders prices that assumed essentially zero growth in the business. When life gives you irrational sellers, make lemonade!”