D.E. Shaw Stock Portfolio: 5 Top Stock Picks

In this article, we discuss DE Shaw and his top 5 stock picks. If you want to read about some more stocks in the Shaw portfolio, go directly to D.E. Shaw Stock Portfolio: 10 Top Stock Picks.

5.  Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 78 

Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) provides travel and restaurant online reservation and related services worldwide. Regulatory filings show that DE Shaw owned 264,045 shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) at the end of September 2023 worth $814 million, representing 0.85% of the portfolio. 

On October 23, investment advisory HSBC initiated coverage of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) stock with a Buy rating and a price target of $3,650. Analyst Meredith Jensen issued the ratings update. 

At the end of the second quarter of 2023, 78 hedge funds in the database of Insider Monkey held stakes worth $6.5 billion in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG), compared to 77 in the preceding quarter worth $7 billion. 

In its Q3 2023 investor letter, Ensemble Capital Management, an asset management firm, highlighted a few stocks and Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) was one of them. Here is what the fund said: 

“Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) (+14.21%): Despite macroeconomic worries and inflation eating into global consumers’ ability to spend, households around the world continue to prioritize travel. While so called “revenge travel,” or increased travel spending after being stuck inside during COVID, has likely run its course, global hotel room nights have only recently returned to pre-COVID trends. As COVID has mostly ceased to have an impact on travel, other than in Asia where China’s extended lockdown means a recovery is still ongoing, growth going forward is likely to be more modest. But during COVID, Booking stayed on offense and has been taking market share. Notably, the company’s alternative accommodations offering has grown substantially and in recent quarters has grown faster than Airbnb.”