Paul Singer’s Bearish Bets Against Apple (AAPL), Semiconductors, Oil, and More

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VanEck Vectors Semiconductor ETF (SMH)

Paul Singer’s firm bought a 2.19 million share equivalent PUT option on VanEck Vectors Semiconductor ETF (SMH) in the third quarter for over $152.48 million. According to the Semiconductor Industry Association, semiconductor sales grew by 11.5% in the third quarter, reaching the highest quarterly sales total of $88.3 billion. VanEck tracks over 26 global securities on Semiconductor 25 Index. Its portfolio includes famous semiconductor giants including QUALCOMM, Inc. (NASDAQ:QCOM), Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC), Broadcom, Texas Instruments and Taiwan Semiconductor.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Elliot Management bought PUT options on Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) in the third quarter, ending the period with $130.96 million worth of put shares of the company. Some bears think that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s stock is facing a slip in the demand of iPhones. Recently, Apple analyst Kuo claimed that Apple’s iPhone 7 demand may have peaked and might slow going forward amid the lack of “surprising” specs in the new phone. The company is now reportedly considering expanding into wearable glass headsets among its new iniatiaves. A total of 145 hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were bullish on Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) at the end of the third quarter, up from 116 funds a quarter earlier.

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Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Elliott Management bought PUT options on Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp (NASDAQ:CTSH) in the third quarter by acquiring 285,000 new put shares of the company, good for $13.59 million. Recently, the law firm Strauss Troy filed a class action lawsuit against Cognizant on behalf of the company’s shareholders, alleging that some of the company officers violated federal securities laws. The New Jersey-based IT company reported third quarter EPS of $0.86 on $3.45 billion revenue, versus the consensus estimate of $0.84 EPS and $3.45 billion. Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group owns 3.84 million shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp (NASDAQ:CTSH), as of the end of the third quarter.

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Disclosure: None

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