XPO Logistics Inc (XPO), Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT): Billionaire David Tepper’s New Stock Picks

In Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT), Appaloosa initiated a $13.02 million stake containing 250,000 shares. The stock of the $62 billion manufacturer of semiconductor and display equipment has surged by more than 78% since the beginning of the year. Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) recently posted its financial results for the fourth quarter of its 2017 fiscal year, which included EPS of $0.93 and revenue of $3.97 billion, both of which beat consensus estimates, by $0.02 and $30 million respectively. For the current quarter, the company is forecasting sales of between $4.00 billion and $4.20 billion and EPS in the range of $0.94 to $1.02, with both projections being above analysts’ expectations. Following strong financial results and solid guidance, KeyBanc increased its price target on Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)’s stock to $67 from $59 and maintained an ‘Overweight’ rating on it, citing strong demand in the semiconductor and display equipment industries in 2018.

The fourth new stock pick in Appaloosa’s equity portfolio is XPO Logistics Inc (NYSE:XPO), in which Tepper’s fund disclosed ownership of 64,311 shares valued at $4.36 million. XPO Logistics Inc (NYSE:XPO) is the largest U.S transportation and logistics company, and one of the top 15 biggest logistics companies in the world in 2017, whose shares have advanced by 77.6% year-to-date, as the company has been well ahead of its 2014 growth plan that targeted $5 billion in revenue by 2017. The company had two major acquisitions in 2015: a majority stake in French logistics company Norbert Dentressangle SA and its $3 billion takeover of trucker company Con-Way Inc. XPO Logistics Inc (NYSE:XPO) plans to make more acquisitions in the near future and to expand into contract logistics. Another fund bullish on XPO Logistics Inc (NYSE:XPO) is David E. Shaw’s D.E. Shaw & Co, which added 628,089 shares to its position during the third quarter to amass 1.95 million shares by the end of September.

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