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Should You Follow Christian Leone Into These Tech and Consumer Stocks?

In this article, we will discuss should you follow Christian Leone into these tech and consumer stocks? If you want to skip our detailed analysis of Leone’s history, investment philosophy performance, you can go directly to Should You Follow Christian Leone Into These 5 Tech and Consumer Stocks?.

Rising interest rates, regional banking crisis, concerns over inflation, and rising geopolitical tensions have done little to dent investor’s sentiment about US equities. The overall stock market has been on a roll, depicted by the S&P 500 rallying by about 21% in 2023, a significant improvement from a 19% loss in 2022. The rally has been fueled by technology  sector gains that have exploded amid the artificial intelligence frenzy.

Tech-heavy Nasdaq index is already up by about 45% for the year as tech stocks remain the preferred investment pick for investors eyeing exposure to changing technologies like artificial intelligence. While the consumer staple sector has come under pressure amid high-interest rates that have taken a significant toll on consumer spending power, it has remained resilient, as depicted by the S&P 500 Consumer Staples tanking by only 4%.

Luxor Capital Group is an event-driven hedge fund that has found its swagger in 2023, benefiting from its strong stock picks in the consumer cyclical and technology sectors. Founded in 2002 by Christian Leone, the $4.4 billion hedge fund boasts a relatively balanced structure focusing on new opportunities based on fundamentals valuation and secular trends.

Having previously worked at Goldman Sachs, where he accrued significant experience, Leone founded Luxor Capital as an equity and fixed-income hedge fund. The event-driven hedge fund tries to profit from various market cycles by relying on data-oriented strategies.

Nevertheless, it was not all rosy in 2022 as Luxor capital felt the full brunt of a bearish run in the market. The hedge fund was down by about 35% in the first six months of the year, hurt mainly by its exposure to tech giants, including Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), and Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG), under immense pressure. The hedge fund gained 70% in 2017, 35% in 2018, 53% in 2019, and 68% in 2020.

Its fortunes started dwindling in 2021 as Luxor Capital Group only gained 22%, a significant drop from the solid gains in the previous years. Fast forward, the hedge fund has found its footing in the market, gaining about 60% for the year’s first nine months.

The hedge fund was up by 9.5% in the third quarter, outperforming the S&P 500. The strong performance in 2023 stems from significant exposure in some big tech companies benefiting from the artificial intelligence frenzy. Long positions in Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN), Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG), and Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) account for about 60% of the portfolio.

Christian Leone of Luxor Capital Group

Luxor Capital Group has also benefited from diversifying its portfolio across the sectors and beyond tech and consumer staple stocks. Communication Services stocks remain among the most significant holdings of the fund, with utilities and financials also accounting for a substantial chunk.

Our Methodology

We have analyzed Luxor Capital Group 13F Fillings for the third quarter, focusing on Leone’s tech and consumer staple stock picks. 

Should You Follow Christian Leone Into These Tech and Consumer Stocks?

10. The Beauty Health Company (NASDAQ:SKIN)

Luxor Capital Group’s Equity stake: $37.90 Million

Year-to-date gain: -69%

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 15

The Beauty Health Company (NASDAQ:SKIN) is one of Christian Leone’s consumer defensive investments as it designs, develops, manufactures, and sells aesthetic technologies and products worldwide. The Beauty Health Company (NASDAQ:SKIN)’s flagship product includes HydraFacial. 

The Beauty Health Company (NASDAQ:SKIN) has underperformed the overall market, going down 69% year to date. Luxor Capital Group trimmed its stock exposure by 2% in Q3 2023 to $6.3 million shares valued at $37.90 million.

9. Sunrun Inc. (NASDAQ:RUN)

Luxor Capital Group’s Equity stake: $4.34 Million


Year-to-date gain: -43%


Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 26 

Sunrun Inc. (NASDAQ:RUN) is a technology company that designs, develops, and installs solar energy systems across the United States. Sunrun Inc. (NASDAQ:RUN) mainly targets residential homeowners.

Sunrun Inc. (NASDAQ:RUN) has been one of the biggest disappointments in Leone’s portfolio, going down by about 43% year to date. Luxor Capital Group held 6 million shares in Sunrun Inc. (NASDAQ:RUN), valued at $4.34 million as of Q3 2023.

8. Bumble Inc. (NASDAQ:BMBL

Luxor Capital Group’s Equity stake: $15.05 Million

Year-to-date gain: -35%

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 28 

Bumble Inc. (NASDAQ:BMBL) is a technology company that provides online dating and social networking platforms. 

Bumble Inc. (NASDAQ:BMBL) is the latest addition to Christian Leone’s portfolio, with the acquisition of 1 million shares valued at $15.05 million as of Q3 2023.

Here is what Polen U.S. Small Company Growth Strategy said about Bumble Inc. (NASDAQ:BMBL) in its Q1 2023 investor letter:

“The most significant detractors from the Portfolio’s relative performance in the quarter included Azenta, Warby Parker, and Bumble Inc. (NASDAQ:BMBL). Finally, Bumble, a leading online dating app known for its strong, women-centric brand, was another detractor. We do not believe the stock’s poor performance is driven by fundamentals, which have remained strong amidst an uncertain economic backdrop. As one measure of this, the Bumble app recently became the most downloaded dating app in key markets such as the US, Canada, Australia, the UK, and Germany—all without a commensurate increase in marketing spend. We believe the stock was weighed down by fears sparked by the poor performance of competitor Match Group, which is experiencing growth challenges as the Tinder platform matures, as well as a pickup in secondary activity from private equity owner selling. We used this volatility to add to our position in Bumble.”

7. Oatly Group AB (NASDAQ:OTLY)

Luxor Capital Group’s Equity stake: $577,194 

Year-to-date gain: -33%

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 14

Headquartered in Malmö, Sweden, Oatly Group AB (NASDAQ:OTLY) is an oat milk company providing plant-based dairy products. Luxor Capital Group held 644,118 shares in the company as of Q3 2023, valued at $577,194 and accounting for 0.01% of the portfolio.

The number of hedge funds that held stakes in Oatly Group AB (NASDAQ:OTLY) rose from 13 to 14 in the third quarter of 2023, according to Insider Monkey’s data on 910 hedge funds. Steve Cohen’s Point72 Asset Management is the most significant shareholder of the company, with 1.23 million shares.

6. Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Luxor Capital Group’s Equity stake: $370.33 Million

Year-to-date gain: 50%

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 221

Mountain View, California-based Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) is one of the largest internet companies in the world, offering various products and platforms.

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) is up by about 50% for the year, with Luxor Capital Group increasing its exposure on the stock by 559% in Q3 2023 through call options valued at $370.33 million.

As of the end of the third quarter of 2023, 221 hedge funds reported owning stakes in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG). The biggest stakeholder of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) was Ken Fisher’s Fisher Asset Management which owns a $5.72 billion stake in the company.

This is what RiverPark Advisors wrote about Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) in its Q3 2023 investor letter:

“Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG): Internet services leader Alphabet was a top contributor in the third quarter following a strong 2Q23 earnings report in July. All divisions performed better than investors’ expectations, including stabilization of Search revenue growth, a return to growth for YouTube, and expanded profitability for Google Cloud. Management highlighted AI tools (according to the company, 80% of advertisers use at least one of the company’s advertising AI tools) as well as a re-acceleration in advertising growth. In addition, YouTube benefited from mass user adoption of YouTube Shorts (2+ billion monthly users) and growing advertiser adoption of Connected TV offerings. Google Cloud continued its strong growth and market share gains (28% y/y revenue growth) and even more impressive operating margin gains (+14 points y/y).

With its high-margin business model (25% operating margin last quarter), continued strength across its core Search and YouTube franchises, and emerging strength and profitability in its still relatively small Cloud business, we continue to view Alphabet as among the best-positioned secular growth franchises in the market. Additionally, GOOG shares trade at a compelling 20x the Street’s 2024 EPS estimate, a discount to the Russell 1000 Growth Index.”

According to Insider Monkey’s data, 16 hedge funds were long Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA) at the end of Q3 2023, compared to 17 funds in the earlier quarter. Brian Bares’ Bares Capital Management held the leading position in the company, consisting of 5.77 million shares worth $250.53 million. 

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Disclosure: None. Should You Follow Christian Leone Into These Tech and Consumer Stocks? is originally published on Insider Monkey.

AI, Tariffs, Nuclear Power: One Undervalued Stock Connects ALL the Dots (Before It Explodes!)

Artificial intelligence is the greatest investment opportunity of our lifetime. The time to invest in groundbreaking AI is now, and this stock is a steal!

AI is eating the world—and the machines behind it are ravenous.

Each ChatGPT query, each model update, each robotic breakthrough consumes massive amounts of energy. In fact, AI is already pushing global power grids to the brink.

Wall Street is pouring hundreds of billions into artificial intelligence—training smarter chatbots, automating industries, and building the digital future. But there’s one urgent question few are asking:

Where will all of that energy come from?

AI is the most electricity-hungry technology ever invented. Each data center powering large language models like ChatGPT consumes as much energy as a small city. And it’s about to get worse.

Even Sam Altman, the founder of OpenAI, issued a stark warning:

“The future of AI depends on an energy breakthrough.”

Elon Musk was even more blunt:

“AI will run out of electricity by next year.”

As the world chases faster, smarter machines, a hidden crisis is emerging behind the scenes. Power grids are strained. Electricity prices are rising. Utilities are scrambling to expand capacity.

And that’s where the real opportunity lies…

One little-known company—almost entirely overlooked by most AI investors—could be the ultimate backdoor play. It’s not a chipmaker. It’s not a cloud platform. But it might be the most important AI stock in the US owns critical energy infrastructure assets positioned to feed the coming AI energy spike.

As demand from AI data centers explodes, this company is gearing up to profit from the most valuable commodity in the digital age: electricity.

The “Toll Booth” Operator of the AI Energy Boom

  • It owns critical nuclear energy infrastructure assets, positioning it at the heart of America’s next-generation power strategy.
  • It’s one of the only global companies capable of executing large-scale, complex EPC (engineering, procurement, and construction) projects across oil, gas, renewable fuels, and industrial infrastructure.
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Trump has made it clear: Europe and U.S. allies must buy American LNG.

And our company sits in the toll booth—collecting fees on every drop exported.

But that’s not all…

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AI. Energy. Tariffs. Onshoring. This One Company Ties It All Together.

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AI needs energy. Energy needs infrastructure.

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This company has its finger in every pie—and Wall Street is just starting to notice.

Wall Street is noticing this company also because it is quietly riding all of these tailwinds—without the sky-high valuation.

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This company is completely debt-free.

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It also owns a huge equity stake in another red-hot AI play, giving investors indirect exposure to multiple AI growth engines without paying a premium.

And here’s what the smart money has started whispering…

The Hedge Fund Secret That’s Starting to Leak Out

This stock is so off-the-radar, so absurdly undervalued, that some of the most secretive hedge fund managers in the world have begun pitching it at closed-door investment summits.

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Why? Because excluding cash and investments, this company is trading at less than 7 times earnings.

And that’s for a business tied to:

  • The AI infrastructure supercycle
  • The onshoring boom driven by Trump-era tariffs
  • A surge in U.S. LNG exports
  • And a unique footprint in nuclear energy—the future of clean, reliable power

You simply won’t find another AI and energy stock this cheap… with this much upside.

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This is your chance to get in before the rockets take off!

Disruption is the New Name of the Game: Let’s face it, complacency breeds stagnation.

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A New Dawn is Coming to U.S. Stocks

I work for one of the largest independent financial publishers in the world – representing over 1 million people in 148 countries.

We’re independently funding today’s broadcast to address something on the mind of every investor in America right now…

Should I put my money in Artificial Intelligence?

Here to answer that for us… and give away his No. 1 free AI recommendation… is 50-year Wall Street titan, Marc Chaikin.

Marc’s been a trader, stockbroker, and analyst. He was the head of the options department at a major brokerage firm and is a sought-after expert for CNBC, Fox Business, Barron’s, and Yahoo! Finance…

But what Marc’s most known for is his award-winning stock-rating system. Which determines whether a stock could shoot sky-high in the next three to six months… or come crashing down.

That’s why Marc’s work appears in every Bloomberg and Reuters terminal on the planet…

And is still used by hundreds of banks, hedge funds, and brokerages to track the billions of dollars flowing in and out of stocks each day.

He’s used this system to survive nine bear markets… create three new indices for the Nasdaq… and even predict the brutal bear market of 2022, 90 days in advance.

Click to continue reading…