Here’s Why ClearBridge Investments Sold its Zynga (ZNGA) Stake

ClearBridge Investments, an investment management firm, published its “Mid Cap Growth Strategy” first quarter 2021 investor letter – a copy of which can be downloaded here. During the first quarter, the ClearBridge Mid Cap Growth Strategy underperformed its Russell Midcap Growth benchmark. On an absolute basis, the Strategy had losses across nine of the 10 sectors in which it was invested during the quarter (out of 11 sectors total), with the IT, consumer discretionary, and health care sectors the primary detractors, while the energy sector was the lone contributor. Try to spend some time taking a look at the fund’s top 5 holdings to be informed about their best picks for 2022.

In its Q1 2022 investor letter, Clearbridge Investments Mid Cap Growth Strategy mentioned Zynga Inc. (NASDAQ:ZNGA) and explained its insights for the company. Founded in 2007, Zynga Inc. (NASDAQ:ZNGA)  is a San Francisco, California-based video game developer with a $10.1 billion market capitalization. Zynga Inc. (NASDAQ:ZNGA)  delivered a 39.69% return since the beginning of the year, while its 12-month returns are down by -16.68%. The stock closed at $8.94 per share on April 15, 2022.

Here is what Clearbridge Investments Mid Cap Growth Strategy has to say about Zynga Inc. (NASDAQ:ZNGA) in its Q1 2022 investor letter:

“We made no new purchases during the first quarter, and eliminated three stocks, shifting exposures to higher conviction investments. We sold mobile gaming platform Zynga (NASDAQ:ZNGA) after a takeout by rival game publisher Take-Two Interactive (NASDAQ:TTWO). The action reflects the continued attractiveness of innovative business models to strategic acquirers and companies looking for new sources of growth.”

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Our calculations show that Zynga Inc. (NASDAQ:ZNGA) fell short and didn’t make it on our list of the 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. Zynga Inc. (NASDAQ:ZNGA) was in 47 hedge fund portfolios at the end of the fourth quarter of 2021, compared to 52 funds in the previous quarter. Zynga Inc. (NASDAQ:ZNGA) delivered a -1.32% return in the past 3 months.

In February 2022, we published an article that includes Zynga Inc. (NASDAQ:ZNGA) in another article. You can find other investor letters from hedge funds and prominent investors on our hedge fund investor letters 2022 Q1 page.

Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.