In this piece, we will look at the top technology stocks that billionaire Steven Cohen’s hedge fund held on to in the first quarter of this year despite a massive selloff. If you want to jump ahead to the top five stocks in this list, then head over to Steve Cohen Is Holding These 5 Tech Stocks Despite Selloff.
Mr. Steven Cohen is an American billionaire who is in charge of Point72 Asset Management LP. This is an American hedge fund based out of Stamford, Connecticut.
Point72 is an old Wall Street firm that was formed in 1992 by Mr. Cohen. Before setting up his hedge fund, the executive spent some time working in the finance industry. Even though his firm is now known as Point72, this was not always the case as it was formerly known as SAC Capital and was set up with this name as well.
The fund was named Point72 in 2014, after Mr. Cohen decided to shut down SAC Capital and transfer all its funds into Point 72 Asset Management. SAC Capital was also based in Connecticut, and the reason its owner decided to shut the fund down was that the firm pled guilty to insider trading to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and ended up paying a massive $1.8 billion fine. At the time of the shift, the firm vowed that it would transform itself and change its practices.
As opposed to some of his other peers who have spent their careers working in several financial firms before setting up hedge funds, Mr. Cohen spent his pre hedge fund career at only one firm. Before setting up SAC Capital, the executive started working at the boutique firm Gruntal & Co. as a junior trader for options arbitrage. After Gruntal, he would set up SAC Capital and the rest is history.
His endeavors in the industry have made Mr. Cohen a billionaire and as of May 2022, the executive was worth $17.4 billion according to data compiled by Forbes Magazine.
Point72 Asset Management employs a diverse set of investment philosophies, which enable it to both hold on to stocks with the hope of profiting from their price increase in the long term and speculatively selling shares on the market with the hope of the share price dropping for a profit. Additionally, its portfolio consists of a vast type of companies ranging from healthcare to technology.
This portfolio was worth $25 billion as the first quarter of this year came to an end. Some of the renowned firms in it are Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), Visa Inc. (NYSE:V), and Uber Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:UBER).
Steven Cohen of Point72 Asset Management
Our Methodology
In order to sift out the stocks Point72 Asset Management held on to, we scanned the investment firm’s Q1 filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Once the firms were identified, we then took a look at their largest shareholders, investor letters, analyst sentiment, quarterly earnings, and the number of hedge fund holdings out of the 924 funds in Insider Monkey’s database of Q4 2021 hedge fund filings.
Steve Cohen Is Holding These 10 Tech Stocks Despite Selloff
10. Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:FB)
Point72 Asset Management’s Holdings: $92 million
Percentage of Point72 Asset Management’s Portfolio: 0.36%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 224
Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:FB) is the holding company for the world’s largest social network, Facebook. The company also owns the voice over internet protocol (VOIP) messaging service WhatsApp and the social image sharing platform Instagram. It is headquartered in Menlo Park, California, United States.
Point72 Asset Management held a $92 million stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:FB) as the first quarter of this year came to an end. This came in the form of 415,696 shares and it represented 0.36% of its investment portfolio. For the prior quarter, 224 of the 924 hedge funds followed by Insider Monkey had invested in the company.
Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:FB)’s first quarter earnings results saw it report $27 billion in revenue and $2.7 in GAAP EPS, missing analyst revenue estimates but beating them for EPS. Guggenheim lowered the company’s price target to $250 from $275 in May 2022, stating that low margins influenced the decision.
Marcio Appel’s Adam Capital is Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:FB)’s largest investor. It owns 218,849 shares that are worth $48 billion.
Vulcan Value Partners mentioned the company in its first quarter 2022 investor letter. Here is what the fund said:
“Meta Platforms Inc., the parent company of Facebook, reported excellent operating results in 2021. Its revenue increased 37%, operating earnings increased 40%, and the company generated $40 billion of free cash flow. Despite these excellent results, Meta experienced extreme volatility in its stock price during the first quarter. We believe that two factors are responsible for this volatility. First, the company quantified the headwind to revenue from Apple’s recent privacy changes in the amount of approximately $10 billion for 2022. Meta is rebuilding its advertising technology, and we believe the long-term headwinds from Apple’s privacy changes will be limited because Meta will create a suitable solution. Second, Meta continues to invest heavily into its Reality Labs segment, also known as the metaverse. While we believe the metaverse presents great opportunity for Meta, we are not assigning any value to it in our valuation work. While 2022 may be challenging for Meta, the company’s competitive advantages are still intact, and the company trades at a significant discount to our estimate of its intrinsic value. Despite our concerns about a possible recession, we expect Meta to return to double-digit bottom line growth next year.”
Steven Cohen showed his faith in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:FB) as Q1 2022 ended, alongside holding on to Visa Inc. (NYSE:V), Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), and Uber Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:UBER).
9. Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ:LRCX)
Point72 Asset Management’s Holdings: $100 million
Percentage of Point72 Asset Management’s Portfolio: 0.4%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 62
Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ:LRCX) is an American company that is responsible for designing and developing equipment that is used by semiconductor fabrication companies to make their products. It provides these products to all of the world’s largest chipmakers and has a global presence to accommodate their needs.
As part of its Q1 2022 portfolio, Point72 Asset Management held a $100 million stake in Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ:LRCX) by owning 187,640 shares. During Q4 2021, 62 of the 924 hedge funds polled by Insider Monkey had invested in the company.
Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ:LRCX)’s largest investor is Ken Fisher’s Fisher Asset Management which owns 1.9 million shares that are worth $1 billion.
8. Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)
Point72 Asset Management’s Holdings: $103 million
Percentage of Point72 Asset Management’s Portfolio: 0.41%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 110
Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) is a software technology company that allows business to optimize their processes. These processes include sales and marketing, and the company’s platforms allow its customers to conduct a variety of functions and tasks such as harnessing the power of big data.
Mr. Cohen’s hedge fund held a $103 million stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) for its Q1 2022 investments. This came in the form of 488,026 shares and it represented 0.41% of the firm’s portfolio. For 2021’s December quarter, out of the 924 hedge fund portfolios analyzed by Insider Monkey, 110 contained the company’s stock.
Barclays reduced its price target to $208 from $275 in May 2022, stating that the firm’s sector didn’t perform well in the quarter.
Ken Fisher’s Fisher Asset Management is Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)’s largest investor through a $3.2 billion stake that comes through 15 million shares.
7. Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)
Point72 Asset Management’s Holdings: $107 million
Percentage of Point72 Asset Management’s Portfolio: 0.42%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 144
Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) is an American financial payments firm that is one of the most renowned in the world. The company provides its customer banks with cards that allow account holders to conduct financial transactions without using cash at authorized terminals.
Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)’s fiscal first quarter results saw it bring in $5 billion in revenue and $2.76 in non-GAAP EPS for a strong set of results that beat analyst estimates for both metrics. Goldman Sachs set a $460 price target for the company in May 2022, stating that it was well positioned to navigate the current inflationary environment.
As part of its first quarter of 2022 investment portfolio, Point72 Asset Management held 301,766 Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) shares that were worth $107 million and represented 0.42% of its investment portfolio. During the previous quarter, 144 of the 924 hedge funds polled by Insider Monkey had invested in the company.
Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)’s largest investor is Marcio Appel’s Adam Capital which owns 57,167 shares. These enable it to hold a $20 billion stake.
6. Krystal Biotech, Inc. (NASDAQ:KRYS)
Point72 Asset Management’s Holdings: $114 million
Percentage of Point72 Asset Management’s Portfolio: 0.45%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 14
Krystal Biotech, Inc. (NASDAQ:KRYS) is an American biotechnology firm that is headquartered in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. The company uses gene therapies to treat serious and rare diseases such as fibrosis and skin diseases.
Mr. Cohen’s hedge fund owned 1.7 million Krystal Biotech, Inc. (NASDAQ:KRYS) shares as part of its Q1 2022 investments. These let it own a $114 million stake in the company. For 2021’s final quarter, Insider Monkey’s 924 hedge fund survey revealed that 14 had bought the company’s shares.
As its fiscal Q1 came to an end, Krystal Biotech, Inc. (NASDAQ:KRYS) had posted -$1.99 in GAAP EPS, missing analyst estimates. At the same time it reported that as the first quarter of this year came to an end, the firm had $468 million in cash and investments. At the earnings event, its CEO reiterated his company’s commitment to developing a new drug.
Jeremy Green’s Redmile Group is Krystal Biotech, Inc. (NASDAQ:KRYS)’s largest investor. It has a $120 million stake in the company.
Alongside Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), Visa Inc. (NYSE:V), and Uber Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:UBER), Krystal Biotech, Inc. (NASDAQ:KRYS) is a stock Steven Cohen persisted with despite strong headwinds in Q1 2022.
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Disclosure: None. Steve Cohen Is Holding These 10 Tech Stocks Despite Selloff is originally published on Insider Monkey.
