In this article, we discuss the 10 stocks that billionaire Leon Cooperman is selling. If you want to skip our detailed analysis of these stocks, go directly to Billionaire Leon Cooperman Is Selling These 5 Stocks.
Leon Cooperman, the billionaire chief of Omega Advisors — a hedge fund with a portfolio value of over $1.8 billion at the end of the third quarter of 2021 — has recently stirred a lot of controversy in the media by terming a plan by United States President Joe Biden to increase tax on wealthy Americans as “baloney” and suggesting that the government should instead focus on closing tax-related loopholes. In an interview with Bloomberg, Cooperman said that an income of $400,000 did not make someone rich and the plan was meant to “attack billionaires”.
Cooperman has a personal net worth of $2.5 billion and has been the manager of one of the most successful hedge funds on Wall Street for more than three decades now. The investing strategy of the billionaire is based on value stocks that are judged against the performance of the benchmark S&P 500 Index. Cooperman converted his fund into a family office in 2018 after several years of success.
Some of the top stocks in the investment portfolio of Omega Advisors at the end of the third quarter of 2021 included Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG), and Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), among others discussed in detail below.
Our Methodology
The stocks were identified from the third quarter regulatory filings of Omega Advisors. The firms in which the fund trimmed a previously-held stake, or sold it off completely, feature on the list.
The hedge fund sentiment around each stock was calculated using the data of 873 hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey.
Billionaire Leon Cooperman Is Selling These Stocks
10. Apollo Strategic Growth Capital (NYSE:APSG)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 45
Percentage Decrease in Stake During Q3: 100%
Apollo Strategic Growth Capital (NYSE:APSG) is a New York-based special purpose acquisition firm. The company had been exploring a merger with three businesses of Vista Equity Partners that had a combined worth of $15 billion but those talks were halted earlier this year.
At the end of the second quarter of 2021, 45 hedge funds in the database of Insider Monkey held stakes worth $428 million in Apollo Strategic Growth Capital (NYSE:APSG), up from 43 in the preceding quarter worth $412 million.
Among the hedge funds being tracked by Insider Monkey, California-based investment firm Empyrean Capital Partners is a leading shareholder in Apollo Strategic Growth Capital (NYSE:APSG) with 5.6 million shares worth more than $55 million.
Just like Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG), and Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), Apollo Strategic Growth Capital (NYSE:APSG) is one of the stocks that hedge funds are buying.
9. Ferro Corporation (NYSE:FOE)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 23
Percentage Decrease in Stake During Q3: 100%
Ferro Corporation (NYSE:FOE) makes and sells specialty materials. The company recently posted earnings for the third quarter, reporting earnings per share of $0.35, beating estimates by $0.07. The revenue over the period was $294 million, up 21% year-on-year.
Ferro Corporation (NYSE:FOE) stock has soared since Prince International, a specialty chemicals firm, announced in May that it would be purchasing the former for $2.1 billion. Prince is exploring the sale of assets to close the deal on Ferro this year.
Among the hedge funds being tracked by Insider Monkey, Illinois-based investment firm Magnetar Capital is a leading shareholder in Ferro Corporation (NYSE:FOE) with 4.9 million shares worth more than $100 million.
At the end of the second quarter of 2021, 23 hedge funds in the database of Insider Monkey held stakes worth $388 million in Ferro Corporation (NYSE:FOE), up from 12 in the preceding quarter worth $181 million.
In its Q2 2021 investor letter, Madison Funds, an asset management firm, highlighted a few stocks and Ferro Corporation (NYSE:FOE) was one of them. Here is what the fund said:
“Another core position, Ferro Corp (FOE) announced its acquisition by private equity in the second quarter. Ferro was a relatively new addition to the portfolio in 2020, but a company that we have invested in multiple times over our strategy’s history. The company had recently divested its least attractive division, fixed its balance sheet, and was focused on growing its core inorganic materials and pigments businesses. We had posited that there was a myriad of small M&A opportunities for the company now that the balance sheet was de-levered. While we were happy to book a solid gain for our investors, we were disappointed that the company chose to continue this strategy in private, denying us the opportunity to participate.”
8. Credit Suisse Group AG (NYSE:CS)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 10
Percentage Decrease in Stake During Q3: 100%
Credit Suisse Group AG (NYSE:CS) is a financial services firm based in Switzerland. The company posted earnings results for the third quarter on November 4, reporting earnings per share of CHF 0.16 and a revenue of CHF 5.4 billion, up more than 6.7% compared to the revenue over the same period last year.
Credit Suisse Group AG (NYSE:CS) is reportedly planning to increase presence in mainland China and is seeking to triple the team it has stationed there already. The firm aims to do this as the government tightens laws related to cross-border flows of money.
Among the hedge funds being tracked by Insider Monkey, Boston-based investment firm Arrowstreet Capital is a leading shareholder in Credit Suisse Group AG (NYSE:CS) with 2.7 shares worth more than $27 million.
At the end of the second quarter of 2021, 10 hedge funds in the database of Insider Monkey held stakes worth $136 million in Credit Suisse Group AG (NYSE:CS), down from 13 in the preceding quarter worth $35 million.
In its Q1 2021 investor letter, Gator Capital Management, an asset management firm, highlighted a few stocks and Credit Suisse Group AG (NYSE:CS) was one of them. Here is what the fund said:
“We were extremely disappointed with the news from Credit Suisse in March. We were blindsided with a double dose of management incompetence. In early March, Credit Suisse announced they were suspending redemptions on the bank’s investment funds related to Greensill’s trade finance business. Then, in late March, the bank announced that it had exposure to the family office Archegos. We believe that of all Wall Street banks, Credit Suisse had the worst response managing the risk presented by Archegos. The combination of these two events in the same month made it clear that the bank does not have adequate risk controls.
We sold our position in Credit Suisse in late March, ending a three-year period of holding shares in the company. Our investment thesis had been Credit Suisse 1) was a global wealth management franchise with an attractive growth rate, 2) had a low-risk, highly profitable domestic Swiss banking franchise, 3) had reduced capital intensity and volatility in the investment bank, and 4) traded for just 75% of tangible book and 8x forward earnings. We believe the bank will be in the penalty box with investors for multiple years due to these risk management failures. We view this situation as similar to Wells Fargo’s account opening scandal from four years ago. Wells Fargo has underperformed the S&P 1500 Financials Index by 95% during that. We believe Credit Suisse’s stock will probably underperform its peers for several years as well.”
7. Navient Corporation (NASDAQ:NAVI)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 17
Percentage Decrease in Stake During Q3: 92%
Navient Corporation (NASDAQ:NAVI) provides education loan management services. Omega Advisors owned 151,100 shares in the company at the end of September 2021 worth $2.9 million, representing 0.15% of the portfolio of the fund.
Wedbush analyst Henry Coffey has an Outperform rating on Navient Corporation (NASDAQ:NAVI) stock with a price target of $25. The analyst highlighted the ability of the firm to buy back stock and pay down debt in a bullish investor note recently.
At the end of the second quarter of 2021, 17 hedge funds in the database of Insider Monkey held stakes worth $204 million in Navient Corporation (NASDAQ:NAVI), down from 23 in the preceding quarter worth $222 million.
6. Ocwen Financial Corporation (NYSE:OCN)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 10
Percentage Decrease in Stake During Q3: 40%
Ocwen Financial Corporation (NYSE:OCN) is a financial services firm based in Florida. The company recently posted earnings for the third quarter, reporting earnings per share of $2.29, beating estimates by $1.21. The revenue over the period was $283 million, up 13% year-on-year.
Latest securities filings reveal that Omega Advisors owned 276,121 shares in Ocwen Financial Corporation (NYSE:OCN) at the end of the third quarter of 2021 worth $7.7 million.
At the end of the second quarter of 2021, 10 hedge funds in the database of Insider Monkey held stakes worth $48 million in Ocwen Financial Corporation (NYSE:OCN), the same as in the preceding quarter worth $43 million.
Among the hedge funds being tracked by Insider Monkey, California-based investment firm Oaktree Capital Management is a leading shareholder in Ocwen Financial Corporation (NYSE:OCN) with 596,870 shares worth more than $16 million.
Along with Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG), and Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), Ocwen Financial Corporation (NYSE:OCN) is one of the stocks on the radar of institutional investors.
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Disclosure. None. Billionaire Leon Cooperman Is Selling These 10 Stocks is originally published on Insider Monkey.
