In this article, we discuss the 3 stocks that Michael Burry was wrong about. If you want to read about some more stocks that Michael Burry was wrong about, go directly to Michael Burry Was Wrong About These 7 Stocks.
3. Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 160
Percentage Decline in Share Price (YTD): 21.20%
Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) is a California-based technology firm. Securities filings reveal that Scion Asset Management owned 6,500 shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) at the end of March 2022 worth $18 million, representing 8.97% of the portfolio. Burry had first bought the stock in the fourth quarter of 2019. The stake comprised over 8,000 shares purchased at an average price of over $1,000 per share. This holding was sold off by the second quarter of 2019 and a new position was opened in early 2022.
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 group multiples have declined and are 40% off recent highs in the digital ad sector.
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. Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: N/A
Percentage Decline in Share Price (YTD): 31.29%
Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD) operates as a media firm. Regulatory filings show that Scion Asset Management owned 750,000 shares of Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD) at the end of March 2022 worth $18.7 million, representing 9.29% of the portfolio.
On June 2, Wolfe Research analyst Peter Supino maintained a Peer Perform rating on Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD) stock and lowered the price target to $20 from $30, noting that there was “unremitting pressure” on subscriber acquisition costs and pricing.
Among the hedge funds being tracked by Insider Monkey, New York-based firm Laurion Capital Management is a leading shareholder in Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD), with 13.5 million shares worth more than $338 million.
In its Q1 2022 investor letter, Silver Ring Value Partners, an asset management firm, highlighted a few stocks and Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD) was one of them. Here is what the fund said:
“Discovery completed the acquisition of the Warner Media business from AT&T in April, and the combined business is now named Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD). We are currently in the middle of an interesting technical event, following the spin-off special situation playbook.
The acquisition was structured as a spin-off of Warner Media, with AT&T shareholders receiving ~ 70% of the shares in the combined entity, or ~ 1.7B shares. Many of these shareholders owned AT&T for its phone business and its dividend. It appears that there has been elevated noneconomic selling as these shareholders exit regardless of price. On the other side, few if any investors want to buy the Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD) shares prior to this forced selling being over.” (Click here to read full text)
1. Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 99
Percentage Decline in Share Price (YTD): 5.10%
Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) provides online reservation services. Latest data shows that Scion Asset Management owned 8,000 shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) at the end of the first quarter of 2022 worth over $18.7 million, representing 9.32% of the portfolio.
On May 5, Piper Sandler analyst Thomas Champion maintained a Neutral rating on Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) stock and raised the price target to $2,500 from $2,440, noting that there was optimism around the stock in relation to return to travel.
At the end of the first quarter of 2022, 99 hedge funds in the database of Insider Monkey held stakes worth $7.5 billion in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG), compared to 92 in the previous quarter worth $7.7 billion.
In its Q4 2021 investor letter, ClearBridge Investments, an asset management firm, highlighted a few stocks and Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) was one of them. Here is what the fund said:
“The pandemic created opportunities for us to be more aggressive in a variety of areas of the market. We were opportunistic throughout the year, for example, in positioning the portfolio to benefit from a flush consumer eager to return to spending and traveling. New positions included Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG), an online travel agency with industry-leading margins and a dominant footprint in Europe.”
You can also take a peek at 13 Best Hemp Stocks to Buy Now and Billionaire Dan Loeb’s Top 10 Stock Picks.
