Senator John Hickenlooper Latest Portfolio: 8 Stocks to Watch

Published January 14, 2022 at 9:01 am EST Updated September 7, 2026 at 1:55 pm EDT

In this article, we discuss the 8 stocks to consider in the latest portfolio of John Hickenlooper.

The equity trading activities of United States lawmakers are once again in the spotlight. Disclosures made by prominent members of the US Congress and the House of Representatives in the past few weeks have caught the eye of users on social media who allege that lawmakers “unfairly” benefit from stock trades since they are also privy to exclusive policy and other related decisions that might affect the share price of the companies in which they hold stakes. A bill to ban stock trading among Congress members is set to be introduced as well.

The trading activity of some lawmakers is more controversial than others. For example, Senator John Hickenlooper of Colorado, a member of the Democratic Party, disclosed in a Periodic Transaction Report dated December 10 that he had sold off his stakes in high growth stocks like Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:FB), and Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), among others discussed in detail below, over the past few months. Social media users allege that he did so to benefit from an imminent rise in interest rates.

There is nothing illegal about reading the market situation — in this instance, it would make sense to dispense off riskier growth options in favor of value stocks since inflation is on the rise. But the hullabaloo around the Hickenlooper trades stems from the fact that he sold off his stakes in these firms ahead of an important Federal Reserve meeting on interest rates on December 14. Before the meeting, six out of seven holdings in which he sold stakes were trading upwards. Since the Fed meeting, four stocks out of these seven are trending downwards.

Renee Bouchard, United States Senate Photographic Studio

Our Methodology

The stocks listed below were picked from the Periodic Transaction Report(s) that John Hickenlooper is obliged to file. It is important to clarify that the stocks listed below were picked from the public record of investments Hickenlooper and his family have made in the past few months. The purchases may not have been made by Hickenlooper himself but only disclosed on behalf of his family.

Hedge fund sentiment was included as a classifier as well. The hedge fund sentiment around each stock was calculated using the data of 867 hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey.

John Hickenlooper Latest Portfolio: Stocks to Watch

8. The Trade Desk, Inc. (NASDAQ:TTD)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 19

The Trade Desk, Inc. (NASDAQ:TTD) operates as a technology firm with prime interests in digital marketing management. A Periodic Transaction Report dated December 10 shows that Robin Pringle, the wife of Senator Hickenlooper, sold a part of her stake in The Trade Desk, Inc. in early November. The stake sold was worth between $15,000 and $50,000. Pringle is a former media executive who married Hickenlooper in 2016.

The Trade Desk, Inc. has been attracting hedge fund interest in the past few months as well. At the end of the third quarter of 2021, 19 hedge funds in the database of Insider Monkey held stakes worth $499 million in The Trade Desk, Inc..

Just like Microsoft Corporation, Meta Platforms, Inc., and Amazon.com, Inc., The Trade Desk, Inc. is one of the stocks that hedge funds are buying.

In its Q2 2021 investor letter, Richie Capital Group, an asset management firm, highlighted a few stocks and The Trade Desk, Inc. was one of them. Here is what the fund said:

“The Trade Desk (TTD – up 26.3%) – Shares in the programmatic advertising specialist rebounded during the quarter after selling off in Q1. The selloff was part of the previously mentioned market move away from higher priced technology names. The rebound in Q2 was due to Google delaying its phase out of third-party cookies in its Chrome browser to mid to late 2023. This is positive news, but TTD is prepared for the inevitable transition away from cookies. The company has built an industry alternative called UID 2.0 which asks users’ permission to receive targeted ads on websites.

UID 2.0 has gained more traction in the digital ad industry vs competing alternatives with many major publishers and advertisers on board. Additionally, TTD’s business is diversified across numerous channels including video, audio, in-app, native and social. Connected TV is currently their fastest growing business, and cookies are meaningless on that platform as ads are based on first-party data.”

7. NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 83

NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) is one of the premier semiconductor firms in the United States. Since chip prices are at record highs, hedge funds have been piling into the stock. At the end of the third quarter of 2021, 83 hedge funds in the database of Insider Monkey held stakes worth $10 billion in NVIDIA Corporation, compared to 86 in the preceding quarter worth $9 billion.

According to the latest data, Hickenlooper sold off his stake in NVIDIA Corporation in early November. The total value of the stock sold was between $500,000 and $1 million. The transaction in this regard, which took place on November 1, was disclosed on December 10.

In its Q1 2021 investor letter, Vulcan Value Partners, an asset management firm, highlighted a few stocks and NVIDIA Corporation was one of them. Here is what the fund said:

“NVIDIA Corp. is the dominant supplier of Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) worldwide. NVIDIA’s GPUs are at the intersection of a number of important computing trends including the movement to the Cloud, artificial intelligence, autonomous vehicles, edge computing, gaming, and more. We previously owned NVIDIA and sold it in the third quarter of 2020 as the price to value gap closed and our margin of safety was reduced. As with all our MVP companies, we continued to follow NVIDIA closely. Since that time, NVIDIA reported excellent results and its value has compounded rapidly. The technology selloff at the beginning of the year negatively affected the stock price while our estimate of NVIDIA’s value per share increased. This happy combination of events created a margin of safety and an opportunity to once again add NVIDIA to the portfolio.”

6. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 120

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is widely recognized as the biggest business in the world. Disclosures made by Senator Hickenlooper in December show that the lawmaker sold off his stake in Apple Inc. at the end of October. The stake sold was worth between $250,000 and $500,000. Although the stake was sold on October 29, the disclosure was made in the Periodic Transaction Report dated December 10.

Apple Inc. has featured on the list of the most popular stocks among hedge funds for the past many years. At the end of the third quarter of 2021, 120 hedge funds in the database of Insider Monkey held stakes worth $146 billion in Apple Inc., compared to 138 in the preceding quarter worth $146 billion.

In its Q1 2021 investor letter, Distillate Capital, an asset management firm, highlighted a few stocks and Apple Inc. was one of them. Here is what the fund said:

“Apple is an even more notable situation and one that highlights our free cash valuation methodology and bears further discussion given its Q3 ‘20 sale from our strategy. For an extended period, Apple was extraordinarily inexpensive on a free cash flow basis and was the largest position in our strategy, exceeding 5% of the portfolio.”

5. PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 123

PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) is a payments technology company. The stock has been under pressure amid a broader lull around growth stocks in the past few months as inflation rises and investors prepare for a rise in interest rates. At the end of the third quarter of 2021, 123 hedge funds in the database of Insider Monkey held stakes worth $12.8 billion in PayPal Holdings, Inc., compared to 143 in the preceding quarter worth $16.4 billion.

Hickenlooper also recently sold off his stake in PayPal Holdings, Inc.. Latest filings show that the lawmaker sold off his stake, worth between $250,000 and $500,000, in PayPal Holdings, Inc. on November 1 last year. The transaction was disclosed in a report dated December 10.

In its Q4 2020 investor letter, Polen Capital Management, an asset management firm, highlighted a few stocks and PayPal Holdings, Inc. was one of them. Here is what the fund said:

“For the full year 2020, one of the top performers was PayPal, which we purchased in 2019, the company continues to take market share in digital payments and has seen an acceleration in user adoption and engagement, especially within their “silver tech” or older user demographic. We expect many more years of ongoing double-digit growth from their various business segments and new initiatives.”

4. Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 195

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) is a diversified technology firm with prime interests in internet-related services like search engine, video sharing, and browsing. Alphabet Inc. makes money by selling advertisements on the platforms it owns, like Google, YouTube, and Chrome, among others. Hickenlooper sold off his stake in Alphabet Inc. in early November. The stake was worth between $250,000 and $500,000.

Alphabet Inc. is one of the biggest tech firms in the world and hedge funds have displayed tremendous confidence in it to deliver strong growth and value. At the end of the third quarter of 2021, 195 hedge funds in the database of Insider Monkey held stakes worth $28 billion in Alphabet Inc., up from 190 in the preceding quarter worth $26 billion.

In addition to Microsoft Corporation, Meta Platforms, Inc., and Amazon.com, Inc., Alphabet Inc. is one of the stocks on the radar of elite investors.

3. Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 242

A Periodic Transaction Report dated December 10 shows that Hickenlooper sold off his stake in Amazon.com, Inc. on October 29 last year. The transaction in this regard was worth between $250,000 and $500,000. Amazon.com, Inc. owns and runs the biggest eCommerce platform in the world. It also has interests in web services, health, food, publishing, space, and other businesses. Amazon.com, Inc. stock has been hit in recent months after missing market estimates on earnings.

However, hedge funds have continued to back Amazon.com, Inc. despite this short-term lull in performance. Among the hedge funds being tracked by Insider Monkey, Chicago-based investment firm Citadel Investment Group is a leading shareholder in Amazon.com, Inc. with 3.9 million shares worth more than $12.8 billion.

In its Q1 2021 investor letter, Hayden Capital, an asset management firm, highlighted a few stocks and Amazon.com, Inc. was one of them. Here is what the fund said:

“Amazon (AMZN):We sold our last remaining stake in Amazon this quarter. Amazon was our longest-running investment holding, after having originally purchasing it at the inception of Hayden in 2014, at a price of ~$317.

I gave some details of how Amazon has progressed over these past 6.5 years in last year’s Q2 2020 letter, which partners can find here (LINK). The company has executed amazingly well over this tenure, with revenues up ~3.3x and since our initial purchase, and reported operating income up ~30x over that period.

Generally, I believe there are three reasons to sell an investment:1) we recognize our initial thesis is wrong (sell out as quick as possible), 2) we have a significantly higher returning opportunity to redeploy the capital into (sell-down to fund the new investment), or 3) the company is maturing and hitting the top part of it’s S-curve / business lifecycle, so the business has fewer places to reinvest its capital internally. As such, the future returns will likely be lower than the past. This investment thus becomes a “source of capital” in the future, as we fund earlier-stage investment opportunities.

In the case of Amazon, we decided to sell due to the third scenario. I’m sure Amazon will continue to generate value for shareholders and continue to keep pace with the broader technology sector. However, I’m just not confident it’s as attractive an investment as when we first invested.

With ~51% of US households having an Amazon Prime account (and with very low churn), each of these households continuing to increase their annual spend with Amazon, and few / no real competitors in sight, Amazon is a dominant force that will only continue to accrue value as consumers continue to move from offline to online purchases for their everyday needs. Likewise, the “cash-flow machine” of Amazon Web Services is in a similar position of strength, with AWS now having ~32% market share and continuing to grow at +30% y/y. Because of this, I think Amazon is probably one of the safest investments in the technology sector today.

So why did we decide to sell the investment then? Simply put, Amazon is …” (read the entire letter here)

2. Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:FB)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 248

Meta Platforms, Inc., formerly known as Facebook, rebranded itself last year as it aimed to transition away from the social media business to the metaverse. Hedge funds have given the company their thumbs up in this regard albeit with some exceptions. At the end of the third quarter of 2021, 248 hedge funds in the database of Insider Monkey held stakes worth $38 billion in Meta Platforms, Inc., down from 266 in the preceding quarter worth $42 billion.

Latest data shows that Hickenlooper sold off his stake in Meta Platforms, Inc., worth $250,00 and $500,000, on October 27. The transaction was disclosed by the lawmaker in the report filed on December 10.

In its Q1 2021 investor letter, ClearBridge Investments, an asset management firm, highlighted a few stocks and Meta Platforms, Inc. was one of them. Here is what the fund said:

“We continued to keep our learnings from 2020 in mind during the quarter as we sought to increase the up capture of the portfolio. We also made adjustments to the portfolio’s top 10 holdings to increase the participation of select stocks, including Facebook, while trimming our weighting to stable names, which now represent 47% of the portfolio. Our repositioning has been encouraging so far with the portfolio performing better on up days in the market while maintaining good down capture during more turbulent sessions.”

1. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 250

Mandatory filings reveal that Hickenlooper sold off his stake in Microsoft Corporation in early November last year. This stake was worth between $250,000 and $500,000. Microsoft Corporation is a technology firm with core interests in the software business.

Microsoft Corporation stock has been a hedge fund favorite for years as well. Washington-based investment firm Fisher Asset Management is a leading shareholder in Microsoft Corporation with 25 million shares worth more than $7 billion.

In its Q1 2021 investor letter, Polen Capital, an investment management firm, highlighted a few stocks and Microsoft Corporation was one of them. Here is what the fund said:

“We have written extensively about Microsoft in recent commentaries. It was our leading contributor last year and one of our largest weightings within the Portfolio. It continues to experience business momentum through several dominant, essential, and competitively advantaged businesses, like Office 365 and Azure. The markets it competes for are enormous, which gives the company the ability to compound at scale. In the past quarter alone, the company generated over $40 billion in revenue, representing a 17% growth rate. The inherent operating leverage in Microsoft’s business model continues and led to 34% earnings growth this past quarter. Despite the broad rotation we saw in the first quarter and Microsoft’s robust performance in 2020, we think its business fundamentals continue to exhibit strength, and the stock continues to reflect the fundamentals.”

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