Billionaire Stephen Mandel Is Betting Big on Tech and These Are His Favorite Picks

JD.Com Inc (ADR) (NASDAQ:JD) represented Lone Pine’s top holding at the end of June, the fund reporting ownership of 41.89 million shares. In the letter to investors, the fund said that the stake in JD.Com Inc (ADR) (NASDAQ:JD) amassed 4.0% of Lone Cypress’ equity. The stock lost 16% in the last three months, but it is still 19% in the green year-to-date, which is pretty good taking into account the current issues in China. As one of the largest e-commerce companies in China, JD.Com operates in the largest retail market in the world, which is why investors are bullish on it. At the end of June, 75 funds from our database held over 25% of JD.Com Inc (ADR) (NASDAQ:JD)’s outstanding stock.

Lone Cypress’ holding in Charter Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHTR) also amassed 4.0% of its equity, while Lone Pine reported holding 5.38 million shares of the company as of the end of June, up by 61% on the quarter. In addition, the fund disclosed a position of call options underlying 3.05 million shares. The stock is up by 15% year-to-date and the upcoming finalization of its acquisition of Time Warner Cable will most likely bring further growth as the company consolidates its position among cable service providers. However, the whole Pay TV industry is in decline at the moment and even though Charter Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHTR) has reported the addition of 12,000 video customers in the third quarter, there are still concerns that customers are ditching cable. Nevertheless, Charter is dealing with the situation and intends to diversify into wireless. Warren Buffett is also betting on Charter Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHTR) as in his holding company Berkshire Hathaway’s 13F filing for the June quarter, it disclosed ownership of 8.51 million shares.

Finally, Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) ranked as Lone Cypress’ fifth-largest holding, amassing 3.9% of its equity. Between April and June, Lone Pine added around 12.11 million shares to its stake in Microsoft, reporting holding 26.60 million shares as of June 3o. In addition, it held call options underlying 2.83 million shares. In a declining PC market, Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) seems to be doing well with its transition towards cloud and software. Moreover, its Windows 10 operating system was well received by users and its Surface Book laptop also sparked a lot of discussion. Microsoft’s stock is relatively cheap, trading at under 19-times forward earnings. Fisher Asset Management is also betting on Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), owning 17.98 million shares as of the end of September.

Disclosure: None