In this article, we discuss Cliff Asness’ top 5 stock picks. If you want to read about some more stocks in the Asness portfolio, go directly to “I Dare All Meme Stock Maniacs”: Cliff Asness’ Short Position on AMC and His Top 10 Picks.
5. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (NYSE:TSM)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 81
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (NYSE:TSM) makes and sells integrated circuits and semiconductors. Latest data shows that AQR Capital Management owned over 6.9 million shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (NYSE:TSM) at the end of the first quarter of 2022 worth $727 million, representing 1.38% of the portfolio. The company has been in the AQR portfolio since the third quarter of 2017.
On June 21, Loop Capital analyst Charles Park initiated coverage of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (NYSE:TSM) stock with a Buy rating and a price target of NT$600, noting the firm was a global leader in the foundry business.
At the end of the first quarter of 2022, 81 hedge funds in the database of Insider Monkey held stakes worth $10.1 billion in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (NYSE:TSM), up from 72 in the preceding quarter worth $10.9 billion.
In its Q1 2022 investor letter, Baron Funds, an asset management firm, highlighted a few stocks and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (NYSE:TSM) was one of them. Here is what the fund said:
“Semiconductor giant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (NYSE:TSM) detracted in the first quarter due to rising geopolitical tensions, macroeconomic uncertainties, and concerns over softening demand for consumer electronics. We retain conviction that Taiwan Semi’s technological leadership, pricing power, and exposure to secular growth markets, including high-performance computing, automotive, and IoT, will allow the company to deliver above its 15% to 20% revenue growth target over the next several years.”
4. Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 271
Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) is a diversified technology firm with core interests in ecommerce. Securities filings show that AQR Capital Management owned over 234,000 shares of Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) at the end of March 2022 worth $763 million, representing 1,44% of the portfolio. AQR has steadily reduced its stake in the firm since the second quarter of 2020, shedding the stock in all four quarters of 2021 as well.
On June 24, Evercore ISI analyst Mark Mahaney maintained an Outperform rating on Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) stock and lowered the price target to $180 from $205, noting that retail spending was expected to be lower over the next year.
Among the hedge funds being tracked by Insider Monkey, London-based investment firm Citadel Investment Group is a leading shareholder in Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) with 4 million shares worth more than $13 billion.
In its Q4 2021 investor letter, Mercator International, an asset management firm, highlighted a few stocks and Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) was one of them. Here is what the fund said:
“Transformative technologies often generate euphoria. People are excited by the big new thing that is changing the world. We saw this pattern with the boom of westward canal transportation at the dawn of the nineteenth century. Railway stocks similarly attracted large numbers of eager investors a few decades later. Then came the electrification of America, the telephone, and the automobile industry, to name just a few transformative technologies.
The initial euphoric phase always ends with a reality check. Valuations come back to earth. At the end of the cycle, only a few companies remain standing. A shakeout has a way of clarifying the field of opportunities.
For example, readers may recall that when the internet bubble burst two decades ago, Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) stock suffered greatly but pet.com was gone. For those investors who had stayed on the sidelines, this was an excellent time to buy Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN). The company’s business model had shown its merits and competition was rapidly shrinking. The stock price was now also much more attractive.”
3. Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 160
Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) is a California-based technology firm. Regulatory filings reveal that AQR Capital Management owned over 311,000 shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) at the end of the first quarter of 2022 worth $867 million, representing 1.64% of the portfolio. The company has been in the AQR portfolio since the third quarter of 2017. AQR reduced its stake in the firm by 5% in the first quarter of 2022 compared to fourth quarter data.
On June 2, Piper Sandler analyst Thomas Champion maintained an Overweight rating on Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) stock and lowered the price target to $2,775 from $2,900, noting that digital ad spend was normalizing after two years.
Among the hedge funds being tracked by Insider Monkey, London-based investment firm TCI Fund Management is a leading shareholder in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) with 2.3 million shares worth more than $6.6 billion.
In its Q4 2021 investor letter, Vulcan Value Partners, an asset management firm, highlighted a few stocks and Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) was one of them. Here is what the fund said:
“In contrast, we made a different kind of mistake about a decade ago. Google, now Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG), performed very well for us while we owned it. The company kept outperforming our assumptions and we kept lowering them to be conservative. “Trees do not grow to the sky.” The stock kept going up and our value grew but did not keep pace with the stock. It hit our estimate of fair value and we sold it with a nice gain, patting ourselves on the back. We kept following the company and what they actually did over the next several years was roughly double the assumptions we used to value it. Therefore, our value was too conservative, and we sold it too cheaply, missing many years of compounding. Fortunately, we experienced some volatility several years ago that allowed us to purchase Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) (Google) again with a margin of safety.”
2. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 259
Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is a Washington-based technology company. Latest 13F filings show that AQR Capital Management owned over 5.4 million shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) at the end of March 2022 worth $1.6 billion, representing 3.18% of the portfolio. The firm has been in the AQR portfolio since the third quarter of 2017. AQR decreased its stake in the firm by 7% in the first quarter of 2022 compared to fourth quarter filings.
On June 17, Morgan Stanley analyst Keith Weiss maintained an Overweight rating on Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) stock with a price target of $372, noting that the gaming franchise build of the firm has hit “overdrive” as the firm expands its user base.
Among the hedge funds being tracked by Insider Monkey, Washington-based investment firm Fisher Asset Management is a leading shareholder in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) with 27 million shares worth more than $8.5 billion.
In its Q4 2021 investor letter, ClearBridge Investments, an investment management firm, highlighted a few stocks and Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) was one of them. Here is what the fund said:
“Despite these mixed emerging growth results, the ClearBridge Global Growth Strategy outperformed the benchmark due to resilience among our secular and structural growth holdings. The bulk of these contributions came from U.S. mega-cap growth stocks Apple and Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) which continued to uniquely act both offensively and defensively as they have through most of the pandemic.”
1. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 131
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is a consumer electronics firm. Latest 13F filings show that AQR Capital Management owned 10.5 million shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) at the end of March 2022 worth $1.8 billion, representing 3.48% of the portfolio of the fund. The firm has been in the AQR portfolio since the third quarter of 2017. The hedge fund led by Asness decreased its stake in the tech firm by 5% in the first three months of 2022 compared to filings for the fourth quarter of 2021.
On June 22, Bank of America analyst Wamsi Mohan maintained a Buy rating on Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) stock with a price target of $200, noting that the app store revenue of the firm was growing.
At the end of the first quarter of 2022, 131 hedge funds in the database of Insider Monkey held stakes worth $182 billion in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), compared to 134 in the previous quarter worth $186 billion.
In its Q4 2021 investor letter, Berkshire Hathaway highlighted a few stocks and Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) was one of them. Here is what the fund said:
“Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) – our runner-up Giant as measured by its yearend market value – is a different sort of holding. Here, our ownership is a mere 5.55%, up from 5.39% a year earlier. That increase sounds like small potatoes. But consider that each 0.1% of Apple’s 2021 earnings amounted to $100 million. We spent no Berkshire funds to gain our accretion. Apple’s repurchases did the job. It’s important to understand that only dividends from Apple are counted in the GAAP earnings Berkshire reports – and last year, Apple paid us $785 million of those. Yet our “share” of Apple’s earnings amounted to a staggering $5.6 billion. Much of what the company retained was used to repurchase Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) shares, an act we applaud. Tim Cook, Apple’s brilliant CEO, quite properly regards users of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) products as his first love, but all of his other constituencies benefit from Tim’s managerial touch as well.”
You can also take a peek at 10 Companies that Benefit From Crypto Mining and 12 Best Artificial Intelligence Stocks To Invest In Right Now.
