In this article, we present the list of the top 3 stocks billionaire John Paulson is selling off. For our methodology and a more comprehensive list, go directly to Billionaire John Paulson is Selling These 6 Stocks.
03. People’s United Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:PBCT)
People’s United Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:PBCT) was serving as the holding company for People’s United Bank. It used to provide wealth management, retail banking, and commercial banking to customers who are individuals, businesses, and municipalities. On April 2, M&T Bank Corporation (NYSE:MTB) completed the acquisition of People’s United Financial Inc. (PBCT). The deal was valued at $8.3 billion. People’s United Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:PBCT) common stock no longer trades on the NASDAQ after Friday, April 1, 2022.
M&T Bank Corporation (NYSE: MTB) is a financial holding company headquartered in Buffalo, New York. M&T Bank, the main banking division of M&T, offers banking services and products in 12 states in the northeastern United States, from Maine to Virginia and Washington, D.C. Paulson & Co. held 25,000 shares of People’s United Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:PBCT) in the previous quarter, valued at $500,000.
02. Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM)
Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM), a natural gas company headquartered in Irving, Texas, was established in 1999. Paulson sold all of its stake in Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) during Q2, comprising 1 million shares valued at $82.590 million.
On September 12, Ryan Todd, an analyst at Piper Sandler, cut his price target for Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) from $109 to $108 while maintaining an Overweight rating for the stock. The analyst maintains a positive outlook for integrated oils, stating that near-record distillate margins are still expected to boost refining forecasts over the winter and into an “equally tight” 2023. Todd finds no shift in strategic priorities across his upstream coverage, despite some upside risk to upstream cost inflation.
In its Q2 2022 investor letter, First Eagle Investments Global Fund mentioned Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) and explained its insights for the company. Here is what the fund said:
“Integrated oil and gas giant Exxon Mobil performed well in the second quarter as continued high prices for energy products supported the stock. As the largest refiner in the US, the company has benefitted from wide “crack spreads,” or the margin between the cost of crude oil and the petroleum products extracted from it. Exxon continues to invest in refining capacity in the US, which industrywide has been in steady decline since 2019. We are pleased that Exxon has been using its strong cash flows to reduce debt and to return cash to shareholders through dividends and stock repurchases.”
01. DiDi Global Inc. (NYSE:DIDIY)
Founded in 2012, DiDi Global Inc. (NYSE:DIDI) is a Beijing, China-based mobility technology platform with a $16.4 billion market capitalization. DiDi Global Inc. provides ride-hailing and other services in the People’s Republic of China, Brazil, Mexico, and internationally. Paulson & Co. dumped its entire stake in DiDi Global Inc. (NYSE:DIDI) during Q2, comprising of 33.148 million shares valued at $82.871 million.
According to Bloomberg, on July 21, after concluding a year-long investigation into the company, China’s cybersecurity authority fined DiDi Global Inc. (NYSE: DIDI) a hefty $1.2 billion, but the method used to determine the sum has generated controversy in the market. Analysts think that before the business can proceed with its Hong Kong IPO plan, it must first use internal resources to pay down the punishment. Investors are cautious about the company’s future because of the stringent regulatory guidelines.
In a more recent development, Apple discreetly resigned from the board six years after making a $1 billion investment in DiDi Global Inc. (NYSE: DIDI). Uber China was acquired by Didi Global in July 2019 for $1 billion, and Apple invested the same sum in the business later that year. Adrian Perica, Apple’s vice president of corporate development, was appointed to the Didi board as a result of that agreement. Bloomberg reports that Perica has resigned from the board and that no other Apple executive appears to have taken Perica’s place. Despite the fact that the information was only recently made public, Perica actually left the board on August 4, 2022.
In its Q1 2022 investor letter, Horos Asset Management mentioned DiDi Global Inc. (NYSE: DIDI) and explained its insights for the company. Here is what the fund said:
“Didi Global (the so-called Chinese Uber) recently announced that on May 23 it will vote at an Extraordinary General Shareholders’ Meeting on whether the company will continue to be listed on the U.S. stock exchange. In addition, it communicated that, although it is considering alternatives, it has no plans to list on other markets before its shares are delisted in the United States. Investor reaction was swift, with the company’s share price tanking by around 20% in a single day.
In the case of Didi Global, the accusation by the Cyberspace Administration of China that its IPO was conducted without completing a state data security audit is having an even greater impact. This has led to significant pressure from the government, cancelling many of the company’s mobile apps and hurting its business. All in all, Didi Global has collapsed by 87% since its IPO just under a year ago. Although some media commented that Didi Global would possibly recover these apps once it was delisted in the United States, it seems that the Chinese government is not very happy with the fines that were agreed between the company and the CAC, which may explain the delay in its potential listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. This is certainly a clear indication of the extent to which China is willing to preserve certain information from the scrutiny of the United States.”
You can also take a look at 10 Blue Chip Dividend Stocks to Buy After the Market Selloff and 10 Monthly Dividend Stocks with Highest Yields
