Five Tech Stocks That Billionaires Are Betting On This Year

Page 3 of 3

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) also saw an increase in the number of billionaires long the stock as 20 funds reported long positions with a total value of $8.03 billion as of the end of December, compared to 18 funds holding $7.47 billion worth of stock a quarter earlier. Billionaire Jeff Ubben’s ValueAct Capital is one of the largest shareholders of Microsoft, owning 56.62 million shares as of the end of 2015.

Follow Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)’s stock has appreciated by some 17% over the past year and is currently trading at 16.2 times forward earnings, which is almost in line with the average for the S&P 500 companies. Investors are pleased to see the successes the company has achieved under CEO Satya Nadella, who decided to stick to the company’s core business and adjusted the company’s strengths to the current environment. Large shareholders, such as Barry Rosenstien’s JANA Partners, praise Microsoft for its decision to transition the familiar Office software to a subscription-based model. In addition, the company is registering growth in the cloud segment, while remaining committed to the PC market with its Windows 10 operating system being Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)’s one of the best-developed and most popular among users.

Finally, the leader in this list is Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB), in which 21 funds led by billionaires reported long positions worth $3.60 billion, in aggregate. During the fourth quarter, the number of billionaires long the stock went up by three. Billionaire Stephen Mandel‘s Lone Pine Capital holds 9.79 million shares of Facebook, which makes it the largest shareholder among the funds we track.

Follow Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) has been one of the fastest-growing companies in the last several years, which explains its huge popularity among smart money investors. Its shares have increased threefold in the last three years and, at a forward P/E of 29.0, it seems undervalued. However, investors have high expectations for the stock and if the company maintains its pace in the mobile segment and overall user growth, the stock should be able to justify its valuation. Similar to some other tech giants, Facebook has also hedged itself against the commodization of its core business by acquiring Oculus VR. Since VR headsets are gaining momentum, Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB)’s bet on the company may result in a big payout sooner than it probably was expected by the company.

Disclosure: none

Page 3 of 3