Billionaire Rokos’s Hedge Fund Bet Billions on Tech in the Second Quarter (Bloomberg)
Rokos Capital Management bought more than $2.7 billion of shares in the Invesco QQQ Trust last quarter, part of a wager on the technology sector. The firm, led by billionaire Chris Rokos, held 7.67 million shares of the exchange-traded fund at midyear, up from 232,382 at the end of March, according to a regulatory filing Monday. Rokos, which specializes in macroeconomic bets, also purchased put options on 7.5 million QQQ shares, a possible hedge, along with call options on 1.9 million shares. The ETF tracks the performance of the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100.
Billionaire Investor Bill Ackman’s Hedge Fund Boosts Alphabet Stake as AI Hype Rages On (Business Insider)
Billionaire investor Bill Ackman‘s hedge fund snapped up more shares in Google’s parent company Alphabet during the second quarter as the company ramps up its exposure to artificial intelligence technologies. Pershing Square Capital Management scooped up about 1.3 million shares of Alphabet’s Class C shares, boosting the company’s total shares in that position to $1.1 billion, according to a second-quarter portfolio update released on Monday.
Burry, Famous for ‘Big Short,’ Bought Bearish Options Against S&P, Nasdaq 100 (Reuters)
Michael Burry, the money manager made famous in the book and film “The Big Short,” held bearish options against the broad S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 Index at the end of the second quarter, according to securities fillings released on Monday. Burry’s Scion Asset Management bought put options with a notional value of $739 million against the popular Invesco QQQ Trust ETF (QQQ.O) during the quarter, and separate put options with a notional value of $886 million against the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY.P).
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Dan Loeb’s Third Point Ramps Up AI Bets With Amazon, Nvidia and TSMC Stake (Investopedia)
Dan Loeb‘s Third Point has ramped up its investments in artificial investment (AI) stocks, with big stakes in Amazon (AMZN), Nvidia (NVDA) and Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM), after lamenting missing out on the tech rally by opting for value plays. Key Takeaways: Dan Loeb’s hedge fund has pivoted further to AI in its recent 13F filing. The investor sees AI as a “once per decade” opportunity. Big stakes in AI leaders such as Alibaba, Microsoft, and Nvidia dominate holdings.
Brevan Howard relocates compliance head from London to Abu Dhabi (Financial News)
Taylor joins Brevan Howard’s co-founder Trifon Natsis in the UAE capital. Brevan Howard has moved group head of compliance Ryan Taylor to its Abu Dhabi office to strengthen its regional presence. Taylor is based in Abu Dhabi Global Market’s Al Sarab Tower office of Brevan Howard, a spokesperson for the firm told Financial News.
Hedge Funds Make Bets on NYC Office Space (Hedge Week)
Several hedge funds including Basswood Capital, Adage Capital Partners and Tudor Investment Corp placed bets on real estate investment trusts that specialise in New York City office space in Q2, despite continued uncertainty over the impact work-from-home policies on the market, according to a report by Reuters. The report cites 13-F securities filings released on Monday as showing that Basswood Capital acquired roughly 360,000 shares of Vornado Realty Trust and nearly 72,000 shares of SL Green, while Adage Capital Partners bought 205,000 shares of SL Green. Tudor Investment Corp, meanwhile bought nearly 152,000 shares of SL Green.
Hedge Fund Lone Pine Capital Adds Stakes in Live Nation and Nvidia (GameisHard.gg)
Hedge fund Lone Pine Capital, founded by Stephen Mandel in 1997, has reported new stakes in Live Nation Entertainment and semiconductor maker Nvidia, according to a recent SEC filing. At the end of June, Lone Pine held a stake in Live Nation Entertainment worth over $300 million and a stake in Nvidia worth $271 million. Live Nation’s stock has performed well this year, with a year-to-date increase of over 23%, outperforming the S&P 500. Nvidia’s stock price has also soared, more than tripling in value as investors anticipate the potential of artificial intelligence, for which Nvidia’s products are integral.
Nelson Peltz’s Trian Fund Loads Up On DIS Stock, Cuts Stake in WEN (Business Insider)
Activist investor Nelson Peltz’s Trian Fund Management increased its holdings in Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) stock in Q2, per the latest 13F filing. At the same time, the hedge fund cut its stake in Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) stock. Peltz increased his holdings in DIS stock by 9% in Q2. The move comes after the billionaire investors made peace with the entertainment and media giant’s management earlier this year. However, the filing reveals that the Trian Fund reduced its holdings in Wendy’s stock by 4%.
Tuesday 8/15 Insider Buying Report: LYFT, SPFI (Nasdaq.com)
At Lyft, a filing with the SEC revealed that on Friday, Chief Executive Officer John David Risher purchased 100,000 shares of LYFT, for a cost of $11.46 each, for a total investment of $1.15M. Risher was up about 9.1% on the buy at the high point of today’s trading session, with LYFT trading as high as $12.51 in trading on Tuesday. Lyft is trading up about 6.9% on the day Tuesday. And at South Plains Financial, there was insider buying on Friday, by Director Noe G. Valles who purchased 23,000 shares at a cost of $26.88 each, for a total investment of $618,240. Before this latest buy, Valles purchased SPFI at 2 other times during the past year, for a total cost of $1.53M at an average of $27.90 per share. South Plains Financial is trading up about 0.1% on the day Tuesday. Thus far Valles is down about 0.8% on the purchase, with shares trading as low as $26.67 at last check today.
$8M Bet On Vicarious Surgical? Check Out These 3 Penny Stocks Insiders Are Aggressively Buying (Benzinga)
Vicarious Surgical: The Trade: Vicarious Surgical Inc. (RBOT) 10% owner Vinod Khosla acquired a total of 8,000,000 shares at an average price of $1.00. To acquire these shares, it cost around $8 million. Xeris Biopharma Holdings: The Trade: Xeris Biopharma Holdings, Inc. (XERS) Director Paul Edick acquired a total of 10,000 shares at an average price of $2.38. The insider spent around $23,794.
