Top 5 Stock Picks of Benjamin Smith’s Laurion Capital Management

4. Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)

Laurion Capital Management’s Stake Value: $336.7 million
Percentage of Laurion Capital Management’s 13F Portfolio: 1.41%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 146

Despite suffering in recent months due to a Chinese government crackdown on dual-listed companies, Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA), specializing in e-commerce and retail, remains one of the top tech stocks in the world.

By the end of the second quarter of 2021, 146 out of the elite 873 hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey reported owning stakes in Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA). The total worth of these stakes is $16.79 billion. This is compared to 135 funds that had stakes in the company in the previous quarter, with a total worth of $15.49 billion.

Among the hedge funds being tracked by Insider Monkey, Washington-based investment firm Fisher Asset Management is a leading shareholder in Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) with 14.2 million shares worth more than $2.1 billion.

On November 2, Barclays analyst Jiong Shao initiated coverage of Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) with an Overweight rating and $275 price target. The analyst started the China Technology sector with a Positive view saying investors “cannot ignore or not invest” in China since it is the second largest economy in the world.

Longleaf Partners International Fund, in its Q3 2021 investor letter, mentioned Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA). Here is what the fund had to say:

“Alibaba has non-earning assets which are still in money-losing investment mode (including the cloud business and community group buying), so returns and profitability are deeply understated. As these businesses grow and scale up, they should generate high margins that will accelerate profitability and return on equity (ROE) going forward, despite regulatory pressures at the margin. In the meantime, Alibaba bought $3.7 billion (bn) discounted shares since April 2021, and the company upsized its approved buyback plan, first from $6bn to $10bn in December 2020, and again to $15bn in August 2021.”