Aussie Billionaire Kerr Neilson’s Bullish Move On Paypal Holdings Inc. (PYPL) And His Other Top Stock Picks

#3 Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC)

– Shares Owned by Platinum Asset Management (as of September 30): 8.14 Million

– Value of Holding (as of September 30): $245.31 Million

It appears that Platinum Asset Management did not make the right move by trimming its stake in Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) during the third quarter, considering that the shares of the chip giant have gained nearly 15% since the end of September. The Australian investment firm reduced its position in Intel by 3.86 million shares during the turbulent September quarter. Shares of Intel are 4% in the red year-to-date, but they are trading at a tempting trailing P/E ratio of 14.81. Several financial services hubs, including JPM Securities, UBS, and RBC Capital Markets, share bullish views on the chipmaker. Just recently, UBS reiterated its ‘Buy’ rating on the stock and raised its price target on it to $39 from $37, while JPM Securities upgraded Intel to ‘Market Outperform’ from ‘Market Perform’. Ken Fisher’s Fisher Asset Management holds a sizable stake of 19.36 million shares in Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) as of September 30.

#2 Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO)

– Shares Owned by Platinum Asset Management (as of September 30): 9.71 Million

– Value of Holding (as of September 30): $254.76 Million

Kerr Neilson’s Platinum discarded a portion of its position in Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) as well during the latest quarter, reducing it by 751,055 shares. On Friday, the networking giant announced its plans to buy London-based videoconferencing start-up Acano Limited for $700 million. Cisco is constantly seeking out new product opportunities, as the growth of its switching and NGN routing businesses, which make up most of its revenue, has been slowing lately (although the third quarter revenue generated from switching products increased by 4.6% year-over-year). The revenue generated from Cisco’s work collaboration business increased by 17.4% year-over-year in the third quarter, and the company’s management believes that this business unit can keep growing considering that many companies still use outdated conferencing and phone systems. Donald Yacktman’s Yacktman Asset Management held a 36.11 million-share position in Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) at the end of September.

#1 Carnival Corp (NYSE:CCL)

– Shares Owned by Platinum Asset Management (as of September 30): 7.42 Million

– Value of Holding (as of September 30): $368.96 Million

Kerr Neilson cashed out a portion of his stake in Carnival Corp (NYSE:CCL) during the September quarter. Specifically, his Platinum Asset Management reduced its position in the cruise company by 2.06 million shares during the volatile three-month period. Several valuation metrics suggest that now is the opportune time to discard holdings in Carnival, as the company has a trailing P/E ratio of 29.14. However, one should not overlook the earnings growth potential of the cruise company. Carnival’s management anticipates non-GAAP diluted earnings per share of $0.36-to-$0.40 in the fourth quarter, lower than the $1.75 figure registered in the seasonally-high third quarter (the demand for cruises is the highest during the third quarter). Cliff Asness’ AQR Capital Management owns 4.15 million shares of Carnival Corp (NYSE:CCL) as of September 30.

Disclosure: None