In this article, we discuss 5 stocks to sell according to billionaire Louis Bacon. If you want our detailed analysis of these stocks, go directly to 8 Stocks To Sell According To Billionaire Louis Bacon.
5. Pinduoduo Inc. (NASDAQ:PDD)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 34
Pinduoduo Inc. (NASDAQ:PDD) operates a Chinese agriculture-based technology platform that focuses on connecting farmers and distributors with consumers directly via online shopping experiences. On January 14, DBS Bank upgraded Pinduoduo Inc. (NASDAQ:PDD) to Buy from Hold with a $96 price target.
Louis Bacon bought 530,000 Pinduoduo Inc. (NASDAQ:PDD) shares in Q3 2021, worth over $48 million, representing 0.73% of the billionaire’s 13F securities. He sold off his shares completely in Q4 2021.
Among the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey, 34 funds were bullish on Pinduoduo Inc. (NASDAQ:PDD) in the fourth quarter of 2021, with stakes amounting to $2.6 billion, down from 49 funds in the quarter earlier, holding stakes in Pinduoduo Inc. (NASDAQ:PDD) worth $3.5 billion. Billionaire Chase Coleman’s Tiger Global Management is the largest Pinduoduo Inc. (NASDAQ:PDD) stakeholder, owning 15.7 million shares, valued at $920.2 million.
Here is what Baillie Gifford has to say about Pinduoduo Inc. (NASDAQ:PDD) in its Q2 2021 investor letter:
“As many countries enjoy a relaxation of Covid restrictions, Mr Market is focussed on short-term beneficiaries of ‘the pleasure after the plague’. There are interesting parallels with the Roaring 20s here, but to our minds, they extend beyond post-pandemic hedonism. Much of the new wealth created in the 1920s was patchily distributed and accompanied by a pervasive sense that the older generation had let down younger people. In 1920, John F. Carter, an irate 23-year-old wrote “the older generation had certainly pretty well ruined this world before passing it on to us. We have been forced to live in an atmosphere of ‘tomorrow we die,’ and so, naturally, we drank and were merry.”
In a similar vein, some of the greatest Growth opportunities are materializing from the companies that are shifting humankind towards more sustainable ways of consuming by driving efficiencies and eliminating surplus. Pinduoduo’s ‘farm to table’ platform is one example – cutting out huge waste in farm produce and short circuiting layers of infrastructure by matching Chinese food supply and demand through a group buying model. In a similar vein, Meituan is well on the way to developing China’s primary ‘Software as a Service’ ecosystem for food distribution which we believe has a strong chance of replacing wasteful wet markets as the primary channel for transacting in produce.
Pinduoduo’s share price pulled back following news that Chinese regulators are investigating possible anti-competitive activities by the country’s large online companies. However, Pinduoduo appears well placed to navigate such regulatory scrutiny in the long-term, helped in part by its community-buying business model that benefits consumers, manufacturers and farmers alike. Its business fundamentals are stellar– the company remains the largest Chinese e-commerce platform, with over 820 million annual active users (surpassing Alibaba and JD.com), while revenue growth increased by 239% over the previous year.”
4. Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 36
Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC) is an American company supplying construction materials such as gravel, crushed stone, and sand. The company is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama. In Q3 2021, billionaire Louis Bacon purchased 301,372 Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC) shares, worth approximately $51 million, which his hedge fund sold off entirely in the fourth quarter.
On January 13, Barclays analyst Adam Seiden raised the price target on Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC) to $240 from $239 and kept an Overweight rating on the shares. The analyst recommends staying “nimble” in the machinery sector, “where the bar is relatively high” going into the Q4 results.
Among the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey, 36 funds reported owning stakes in Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC) in Q4 2021, totaling $2.2 billion, as compared to 43 funds in the preceding quarter, holding stakes in Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC) worth $1.92 billion. Stockbridge Partners is the biggest Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC) stakeholder as of Q4 2021, with 1.6 million shares, valued at $342 million.
3. Coupang, Inc. (NYSE:CPNG)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 29
Headquartered in Seoul, South Korea, Coupang, Inc. (NYSE:CPNG) operates an ecommerce marketplace that offers home goods, apparel, beauty products, fresh food and groceries, sporting goods, electronics, and everyday consumables.
Billionaire Louis Bacon, via Moore Global Investments, acquired 2.18 million Coupang, Inc. (NYSE:CPNG) shares, valued at $60.8 million, representing 0.92% of the hedge fund’s third quarter investments. He disposed of his stake in Q4 2021.
On November 15, Mizuho analyst James Lee lowered the price target on Coupang, Inc. (NYSE:CPNG) to $32 from $40 and kept a Neutral rating on the shares. The company reported a mixed quarter due to capacity constraints from a warehouse fire, increased investments in fresh/food delivery, and rising COVID-19 related costs, the analyst told investors in a research note. Heading into Q4, Lee expects these issues to persist.
According to Insider Monkey’s Q4 data, 29 hedge funds were bullish on Coupang, Inc. (NYSE:CPNG), with stakes totaling $8.6 billion, as compared to 45 funds in the prior quarter, holding stakes in Coupang, Inc. (NYSE:CPNG) worth $10.7 billion. Greenoaks Capital held the largest stake in Coupang, Inc. (NYSE:CPNG) as of Q4 2021, owning 115.8 million shares worth $3.40 billion.
2. Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 43
Louis Bacon added 190,000 Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA) shares to his portfolio during the third quarter of 2021, valued at $73.1 million, representing 1.11% of the billionaire’s total 13F securities for the period. In Q4 2021, he discarded his entire stake in the company. Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA) is a biotechnology company developing therapeutics and vaccines for the treatment of infectious diseases, immuno-oncology, rare diseases, cardiovascular diseases, and autoimmune disorders.
Piper Sandler analyst Edward Tenthoff believes the FDA’s full approval today of Spikevax “broadly de-risks Moderna’s rich mRNA vaccine pipeline.” He reiterated an Overweight rating on Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA) shares on January 31 with a $348 price target. Moderna shipped 807 million Spikevax doses for revenues of over $17.5 billion in 2021, and has advanced purchase agreements of $18.5 billion in 2022, the analyst told investors in a research note.
In the fourth quarter of 2021, 43 hedge funds were bullish on Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA), with stakes equaling $3.8 billion, as compared to 49 funds in the quarter earlier, holding stakes worth $7.3 billion in Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA). Billionaire Philippe Laffont’s Coatue Management is a significant Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA) stakeholder, holding over 4 million shares, valued at more than $1 billion.
Here is what Carillon Tower Advisers has to say about Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA) in its Q3 2021 investor letter:
“Moderna is a biotechnology company pioneering messenger RNA (mRNA) therapeutics and vaccines. The stock proved to be an impressive contributor once again in the quarter, as investors continue to evaluate the potential for future growth driven primarily by the firm’s revolutionary COVID-19 vaccine. Strong global demand for the vaccine may persist for the foreseeable future in order to maintain immunity as well as provide protection against any additional future variants. The potential for the firm’s mRNA technology to be used in a number of other use cases, specifically influenza, could also provide an additional tailwind for future growth.”
1. Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 158
Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) is one of the Big Five American technology firms. The stock has featured in Louis Bacon’s 13F portfolio since Q3 2015, with the billionaire disposing of his position twice over the years. In Q3 2021, Moore Global Investments held 26,084 Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) shares, worth $69.7 million, which the hedge fund discarded entirely in the fourth quarter.
Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) posted its Q4 earnings on February 1, reporting an EPS of $30.69, topping estimates by $3.41. Revenue over the period jumped 32.39% from the prior-year quarter, reaching $75.33 billion, exceeding market consensus by $3.50 billion.
Stifel analyst Scott Devitt on February 2 raised the price target on Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) to $3,500 from $3,200 and kept a Buy rating on the shares after the company announced “another strong quarter”, with revenue and operating income ahead of market consensus estimates.
Elite hedge funds were increasingly bullish on Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) during Q4 2021. 158 hedge funds were bullish on Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) in the fourth quarter, up from 156 funds in the previous quarter. TCI Fund Management was one of the prominent stakeholders of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG), with 2.95 million shares worth $8.5 billion.
Here is what Polen Focus Growth has to say about Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) in its Q4 2021 investor letter:
“For the full year, the top performers included Alphabet. Alphabet’s business continues to compound at what we believe to be a healthy rate. The company reported a 40% increase in third-quarter revenues year over year and likely earned approximately $70 billion in incremental revenue in 2021.”
You can also take a look at Morgan Stanley’s Top 10 Stock Picks for 2022 and 10 Best Dividend Stocks According to Thomas Steyer’s Farallon Capital.
