In this article, we discuss Warren Buffett’s 3 worst performing stock picks from 2021. If you want our detailed analysis of these stocks, go directly to Warren Buffett’s 5 Worst Performing Stock Picks From 2021.
3. T-Mobile US, Inc. (NASDAQ:TMUS)
Berkshire Hathaway’s Stake Value: $669,718,000
Percentage of Berkshire Hathaway’s 13F Portfolio: 0.22%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 89
Loss in 2021: 12.02%
In Q3 2020, Buffett acquired a stake in T-Mobile US, Inc. (NASDAQ:TMUS), which is a Washington-based wireless network operator. As of the third quarter of 2021, the billionaire holds an unchanged position in T-Mobile US, Inc. (NASDAQ:TMUS), with 5.24 million shares worth $669.7 million.
Although T-Mobile US, Inc. (NASDAQ:TMUS) delivered a loss of 12.02% in 2021, the company posted its preliminary customer figures for Q4 on January 6, which exceeded market expectations. T-Mobile US, Inc. (NASDAQ:TMUS) reported that it will gain 1.8 million additional postpaid customers in Q4, versus an expected 1.57 million. This will bring the total customers to a record 108.7 million. T-Mobile US, Inc. (NASDAQ:TMUS) is also one of the industry leaders catering to the 5G frenzy.
Morgan Stanley analyst Simon Flannery lowered the price target on T-Mobile US, Inc. (NASDAQ:TMUS) to $149 from $152 and kept an Overweight rating on the shares on January 12, ahead of the company’s Q4 report due in early February. He cut his estimates, particularly for 2022, to account for a more conservative synergy assumption and higher capex.
Billionaire Andreas Halvorsen’s Viking Global is the largest T-Mobile US, Inc. (NASDAQ:TMUS) stakeholder from the 89 hedge funds that were bullish on the stock in the third quarter of 2021. Halvorsen’s fund owns more than 10 million T-Mobile US, Inc. (NASDAQ:TMUS) shares, worth $1.30 billion.
Here is what ClearBridge Investments had to say about T-Mobile US, Inc. (NYSE:TMUS) in its Q1 2021 investor letter:
“The portfolio’s quality bias and valuation discipline have generated compelling returns over time with typically strong relative results in more challenging environments as it did through the first three quarters of 2020. However, that same quality bias tends to create a more challenging relative performance environment for the Strategy during periods of sharp economic acceleration, which tend to benefit stocks that are more commodity linked or of lower quality. This has been the case during the vaccine- and stimulus-driven rally experienced late last year and during the most recent quarter. Sectors that lagged in the quarter included communication services, where T-Mobile trailed after generating robust returns earlier in the recovery.”
