Top hedge funds dumped key tech stock in the second quarter with mixed results, as investors weigh what stocks the "smart money" bought and sold.
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David Einhorn's Greenlight Capital sliced its Apple (AAPL), Twitter (TWTR) and Micron Technology (MU) stake, while Dan Loeb's Third Point cut Facebook (FB) and exited its Alphabet (GOOGL) stake. Filings from other notable hedge funds including David Tepper's Appaloosa Management are awaited, as well as Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (BRKB).
But hedge funds' disclosures come 45 days after the end of each quarter and may not reflect current positions.
Apple Sold Ahead Of Record High
Greenlight slashed its stake in Apple by 486,000 shares, or 77%, according to a 13F Securities and Exchange Commission filing Tuesday. The Einhorn fund reduced Twitter by 901,400 shares, or 35%. It cut its stake in Micron by roughly 3.1 million shares, or 91%.
Shares of Apple have soared to all-time highs this year, while Micron and Twitter also outperformed. Year to date, Apple has gained 23% and is the first company to achieve a $1 trillion market cap. Meanwhile, Micron is up 25% and Twitter 37%, compared with a roughly 6% gain for the S&P 500, though both are well below recent highs and sold off hard in June and July, respectively
Top buys included Interactive Corp. (IAC), which like the iPhone maker is an IBD 50 stock, and Brighthouse Financial (BHF). A half-dozen consumer discretionary stocks formed its new positions, including Gap Inc. (GPS) and Dollar General (DG).
Dollar General stock has jumped since its last quarterly report on improving earnings growth, putting shares 2% away from a potential 105.92 buy point.
Greenlight Capital's largest holding is General Motors (GM) with shares held of 21,160,843, or 27% of the portfolio. The fund reduced its position by 6% in Q2.
Facebook Bought Ahead Of Massive Dive
Meanwhile, Barry Rosenstein's Jana Partners dived back into Facebook after selling its entire stake in the social network in the first quarter. Jana also took new stakes in Alibaba (BABA), Alphabet and Microsoft (MSFT), according to a 13F filing Tuesday. Top sells included GM, with Jana cutting its stake in half.
The Facebook position is especially notable as it came right before shares sank 19% on July 26, with the market capitalization diving by $119 billion to mark the worst loss in stock market history.
Jana, a critic of iPhone addiction in children, also raised its stake in Apple by 1%.
Pinnacle Foods (PF) remains its top holdings, at 18% of the portfolio. The size of the position nearly doubled in Q2. Just before Q2 ended, Conagra (CAG) announced plans to buy Pinnacle Foods in a cash-and-stock deal valued at about $8.1 billion, or about $10.9 billion including debt.
Facebook Sold Ahead Of Massive Dive
Loeb's Third Point dumped 575,000 shares of Alphabet, exiting that position, while reducing Facebook by 1 million shares, or 25%.
But 12 new positions included a few tech-oriented names including NXP Semiconductors (NXPI), which sank last month after its deal with Qualcomm (QCOM) was rejected by Chinese regulators, PayPal Holdings (PYPL), Visa (V) and Dell Technologies (DVMT).
Third Point also added significantly to existing positions in Microsoft, Adobe (ADBE) and Electronic Arts (EA).
The fund's biggest holding is drugmaker Baxter International (BAX), with 36 million shares at 18% of the portfolio. There was no change to the position.
All Eyes On Warren Buffett's Apple Position
After top hedge funds report, one Berkshire Hathaway stock holding will take the spotlight.
Buffett began purchasing shares of Apple in the first quarter of 2016 and now owns roughly 5% of the tech giant, with the position estimated to be worth around $50 billion now.
Apple shares have continued marching to fresh record highs.
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