In this article, we discuss 10 stocks that Ken Fisher sold before entering 2022. If you want to skip our detailed analysis of these stocks, go directly to Ken Fisher Sold These 5 Stocks Before Entering 2022.
Ken Fisher is the founder of Fisher Asset Management, an independent money manager headquartered in Washington. He stepped down as the chief executive officer of the hedge fund in July 2016, but remains the executive chairman and co-chief investment officer to date.
Fisher Asset Management is perhaps one of the most prominent Wall Street hedge funds, with a portfolio of investments worth $178.5 billion as of Q4 2021. The fund’s investments are carefully considered after studying the price-to-earnings ratios of stocks, and it offers services including annuity conversion, financial planning, portfolio management, and custom investment strategies to clients. Fisher Asset Management also offers elaborate retirement plans.
Ken Fisher’s fund primarily invests in domestic and foreign stocks, fixed income securities, and structured products and derivatives. Hedging instruments such as short equity positions and options are also leveraged when it’s appropriate, given ongoing market conditions.
Investing mainly in the information technology, healthcare, finance, consumer discretionary, and communications sectors, Ken Fisher’s most notable stock picks as of Q4 2021 include Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), and Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN).
Our Methodology
To analyze the stocks Ken Fisher sold before entering 2022, we referred to his Q4 2021 portfolio, selecting the most well-known companies that he chose to eliminate from his investments for the period.
We have ranked the securities according to the hedge fund sentiment around each holding, which was gauged from the 867 elite funds monitored by Insider Monkey as of Q3 2021.
Ken Fisher Sold These Stocks Before Entering 2022
10. Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited (NYSE:TAK)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 15
Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited (NYSE:TAK) is a Japanese multinational pharmaceutical company, focusing its research and manufacturing efforts on therapeutic areas including metabolic disorders, gastroenterology, neurology, inflammation, and oncology.
Ken Fisher acquired a position in Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited (NYSE:TAK) in Q3 2021, buying 10,339 shares worth $169,000, before disposing of the stake entirely in the fourth quarter of 2021.
On January 13, Goldman Sachs analyst Akinori Ueda downgraded Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited (NYSE:TAK) to Neutral from Buy with a price target of ¥3,700, down from ¥4,300. The analyst cited lower visibility on the company’s product pipeline for the downgrade. The analyst thinks that there is “considerable risk that poor visibility on this franchise will weigh down the stock for now.”
According to the third quarter database of Insider Monkey, 15 hedge funds were bullish on Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited (NYSE:TAK), with stakes totalling $443.6 million, as compared to 19 funds holding stakes in Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited (NYSE:TAK) worth $551.2 million in the quarter earlier.
Cathie Wood’s ARK Investment Management is the leading Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited (NYSE:TAK) stakeholder as of Q3 2021, with 13.5 million shares worth $221 million.
Although Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), and Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) are still a significant part of Ken Fisher’s portfolio, the billionaire chose to discard his stake in Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited (NYSE:TAK) in Q4 2021.
9. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft (NYSE:DB)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 15
Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft (NYSE:DB) is a German multinational financial services company with a significant presence in Europe, the Americas, and Asia. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft (NYSE:DB) specializes in investment banking, corporate banking, asset management, commercial banking, and private banking.
Ken Fisher initially purchased a stake in Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft (NYSE:DB) in Q4 2018, before selling off his shares in Q1 2019. He again bought the stock in Q2 2021, buying 14,841 shares, which were worth $188,000 in Q3 2021, and the billionaire discarded his position entirely in Q4 2021.
On January 27, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft (NYSE:DB) posted its Q4 results, reporting a Q4 GAAP EPS of €0.12. Revenue over the period totaled €5.9 billion, up 8.3% year-over-year, beating estimates by €220 million. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft (NYSE:DB) said that last year’s revenue growth performance has paved the way for continued outperformance in 2022.
UBS analyst Daniele Brupbacher raised the price target on Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft (NYSE:DB) to €15.30 from €13.50 and kept a Buy rating on the shares on January 31.
Among the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey in Q3 2021, 15 funds were bullish on Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft (NYSE:DB), down from 20 funds in the quarter earlier. Hudson Executive Capital is the biggest stakeholder of the company, with more than 67 million shares worth $861.5 million.
Here is what Third Avenue Management has to say about Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft (NYSE:DB) in its Q3 2021 investor letter:
“Deutsche Bank AG (4.5% portfolio weight) – Similarly, Deutsche Bank has in recent years undertaken profound cost cutting initiatives, albeit, in Deutsche’s case, as a result of scandal, business underperformance and a need to deleverage. Deutsche Bank, and other investment banks with large fixed income trading operations, clearly benefited from the pandemic in 2020 as a result of unusually large fixed income trading volumes and market volatility. This is one of the primary arguments for having trading operations alongside more traditional banking and asset management businesses—i.e., that their business performances are not correlated and strong trading performance can, at times, offset challenges in other parts of the business. And times are still challenging for Deutsche’s more traditional corporate and private banking businesses as a result of the interest rate environment. Clearly a higher (or even less negative) German rate environment would help, but it must be said that Germany has to be among the least attractive banking markets in Europe. The industry structure is unique and frustrates the ability of private banks to produce profit, which in turn limits the ability to accumulate capital, making the entire system more fragile than it ought to be. We value Deutsche’s various banking business lines accordingly. But, turning back to things Deutsche can control, it is indisputable that Deutsche, under CEO Christian Sewing, has made considerable progress towards its critical cost cutting, deleveraging and capital accumulation goals. At the outset of our investment in Deutsche, our single largest concern was that the bank’s necessary exit from certain lines of business, along with sizable headcount reduction in others, could cause clients to seek other relationships with banks offering a full range of services and without any perception of counterparty risk. In a worst case scenario the result could have been an erosion of revenue even faster than the cost reduction, possibly precipitating a downward spiral. As we emerge from the pandemic with Deutsche now far down the road of transformation, and clear evidence that it is regaining market share in various lines of business, the largest risks appear to be behind us. To that point, in recent public comments Deutsche management has indicated that it intends to resume returning excess capital to shareholders in 2022.”
8. The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 20
Ken Fisher started building his position in The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE), an American restaurant company, back in Q3 2020. As of Q3 2021, he held 474,789 shares of The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE), worth $22.3 million. He disposed of his stake entirely in the fourth quarter of 2021.
Stephens analyst James Rutherford on January 5 upgraded The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE) to Overweight from Equal Weight, with a lower price target of $47, down from $53. The analyst cited the stock’s “ongoing underperformance” in the sub-sector and also believes that the company has proven its ability to exceed 2019 unit volumes with the help of a strong off-premise business. The analyst further stated that in 2022, The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE) is well positioned to retain these sales.
Castle Hook Partners held the largest stake in The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE) in Q3 2021, owning 639,373 shares worth $30 million. Overall, 20 hedge funds in the third quarter database of Insider Monkey were bullish on The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE), down from 26 funds in the preceding quarter.
The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE) is gaining the interest of elite hedge funds, just like Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), and Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN).
Here is what Baron Small Cap Fund has to say about The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE) in its Q1 2021 investor letter:
“Shares of The Cheesecake Factory, Inc., the operator of casual dining restaurants, were up significantly in the first quarter, as their dining rooms reopened, and business recovered from the depths caused by COVID restrictions. We believe that the company weathered the downturn very well and emerged a stronger, more profitable entity, with an improved outlook. Off Premise sales were robust during the shutdown, and we believe that a good portion of those sales will be retained, so that each restaurant will do more revenue than before. We expect about 15% of restaurants in the casual dining space will be shuttered forever, which will help The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ:CAKE)’s volumes and already strong competitive position. And we are excited about the opportunity for it to grow units, especially in the North Italia and Fox brands, which the company acquired prior to COVID. However, with the stock quadrupling off the bottom and back to its highs of five years ago, and trading at a good multiple of our expectation of near-term earnings, we sold about a third of our position into strength.”
7. Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ:HBAN)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 27
Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ:HBAN) is an Ohio-based bank holding company that operates via The Huntington National Bank, serving customers in Colorado, Indiana, Kentucky, Minnesota, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Illinois, and Wisconsin.
Billionaire Ken Fisher initially acquired 10,906 shares of Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ:HBAN) in Q4 2010, valued at $75,000. He disposed of his stake in the next quarter. He once again purchased Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ:HBAN) shares in Q3 2021, buying 10,153 shares worth $157,000, before discarding his position in the company in Q4 2021.
On January 21, Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ:HBAN) declared a quarterly dividend of $0.155 per share, in line with previous. The dividend is payable on April 1, to shareholders of record on March 18.
Publishing its Q4 results on January 21, Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ:HBAN) posted earnings per share of $0.36, beating estimates by $0.01. Although the $1.65 billion revenue increased 33.47% year-over-year, it missed market consensus estimates by roughly $47 million.
UBS analyst Erika Najarian on January 12 initiated coverage of Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ:HBAN) with a Buy rating and a $21 price target. The analyst said she is “quite” bullish on U.S. large-cap regional banks, as the group has “even greater” exposure to net interest income and is therefore especially sensitive to positive revisions in the rate outlook.
Among the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey in Q3 2021, 27 funds reported owning stakes worth approximately $299 million in Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ:HBAN). Billionaire Israel Englander’s Millennium Management held the leading stake in Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ:HBAN) in the third quarter, with 6.76 million shares, valued at $104.6 million.
6. Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 29
Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) is a multinational consumer electronics retailer headquartered in Minnesota, serving customers in the United States and Canada. Ken Fisher started building a position in Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) in Q1 2021, and at the end of the third quarter of 2021, the billionaire held 2,006 shares of Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY), worth $212,000. He discarded the entirety of his stake in Q4 2021.
On November 4, Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) declared a quarterly dividend of $0.70 per share, in line with previous. The dividend was paid on January 4, to shareholders of record on December 14.
Citi analyst Steven Zaccone lowered the price target on Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) on January 18 to $90 from $106 and kept a Sell rating on the shares. The analyst said that the sentiment has shifted towards “defensive, stable margin businesses” like home improvement and auto parts retail, “leaving little room for error when it comes to valuation” for the hardlines retailing group.
According to the third quarter database of Insider Monkey, AQR Capital Management is the biggest stakeholder of Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY), with 1.67 million shares worth $176.9 million. Overall, 29 hedge funds were bullish on Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) in Q3 2021, up from 27 funds in the quarter earlier.
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Disclosure: None. Ken Fisher Sold These Stocks Before Entering 2022 is originally published on Insider Monkey.
