Below is the list of billionaire Chen Tianqiao’s top 5 stock picks. For a comprehensive list and Chen’s track record please see Billionaire Chen Tianqiao’s Top 10 Stock Picks.
5. Visa Inc. (NYSE: V)
Billionaire Chen Tianqiao bought a stake in the payment technology company Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) during the pandemic selloff in early 2020 and added to the existing position in the December quarter. The firm held 165,000 shares of Visa at the end of the fourth quarter, accounting for 1.96% of the overall portfolio.
Wedgewood Partners, an investment management firm, highlighted a few stocks including Visa in the fourth-quarter investor letter. Here is what Visa said:
“Visa payment volume recovered along with consumer spending habits, finishing up +5% during the December quarter; but it skewed heavily toward online purchases, particularly with debit. Historically, Visa has had a meaningful portion of its volume derived from higher-yielding credit card spending related to cross-border travel and entertainment (T&E). As many countries maintain closed borders, Visa’s cross-border T&E segment has stayed depressed. However, we expect this business will rebound as borders inevitably reopen to COVID-19 vaccinated populations. In the meantime, we trimmed Visa to help fund a reestablished position in Booking Holdings, which should disproportionately benefit from the aforementioned reopening as well.”
4. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (NYSE: TSM)
The chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Co Ltd (NYSE: TSM) is a member of billionaire Chen Tianqiao’s top 10 stock picks list. His investment firm first initiated a position in Taiwan Semiconductor during the second quarter of 2020 and sold out 10% of the position during the December quarter. Shares of Taiwan Semiconductor are up 114% in the past four quarters.
In the Q4 investor letter, Bonsai Partners highlighted a few stocks and Taiwan Semiconductor is one of them. Here is what Bonsai Partners stated:
“Taiwan Semiconductor is the world’s largest outsourced foundry of logic semiconductor chips. TSMC’s shares appreciated 34.5% during the quarter. Taiwan Semiconductor continues to see unprecedented demand, albeit at a slightly less rapid growth rate than earlier in 2020. At the time of writing, TSMC announced strong fourth-quarter results and staggering growth in their expected capital expenditures for 2021 – growing from $17B in 2020 to $25B to $28B in 2021. Forward-looking capital expenditures are the key leading indicator of their medium-term growth rate expectations, and I expect TSMC management will continue to earn excellent returns on these colossal investments.
TSMC’s capital expenditure growth is likely due to investment in their new U.S. manufacturing footprint, rapid investment in their cutting edge process technology, as well as generally high levels of customer demand. Lately, we’ve seen semiconductor shortages in some of their less advanced process technologies, emphasizing the current state of the semiconductor supply-demand imbalance.”
3. Hercules Capital Inc. (NYSE: HTGC)
Billionaire Chen Tianqiao has been holding a position in business development company Hercules Capital Inc. (NYSE: HTGC) since 2018. Although his investment firm sold out 32% of the position in Hercules Capital during the fourth quarter to capitalize on the share price rally, Shanda Asset Management still held 1.9 million shares of the company at the end of December.
Its record total investment income of $287.3 million in 2020 grew 7.2% compared to $267.9 million in the previous year. Moreover, the company anticipates extending the financial growth momentum into 2021.
2. Community Health Systems, Inc. (NYSE: CYH)
Chinese billionaire sold out 47% of the stake in Community Health Systems, Inc. (NYSE: CYH) during the fourth quarter. Despite that, it was the fourth-largest stock holding of Shanda Asset Management at the end of December. The firm first initiated a position in Community Health Systems in fiscal 2016. CYH stock price rallied almost 177% in the last twelve months. Community Health Systems was in 26 hedge fund portfolios at the end of December compared to 22 positions in the previous quarter.
1. Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ: ISRG)
Chinese billionaire significantly raised his investments in Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ: ISRG) during the December quarter last year. The shares of health care equipment provider rallied strongly in the past couple of quarters, thanks to strong demand for its products. Shanda Asset Management held 15,000 shares of Intuitive Surgical at the end of December, accounting for 0.67% of the overall portfolio.
Intuitive Surgical was in 49 hedge funds’ portfolios at the end of December compared to 51 positions in the previous quarter.
