The 5 Stocks That Account for 78.95% of Varenne Capital’s 13F Portfolio

1. Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Value of Varenne Capital Partners‘ 13F Position: $115 million

Number of Hedge Fund Shareholders: 372

Topping the list is Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG), which Varenne Capital’s 13F portfolio has 32% exposure to. Surprisingly, that would only rank it third in terms of exposure to GOOG among the funds in our database based on Q1 data. Alphabet is the most popular stock among hedge funds, with 372 owning both classes of the company’s shares.

Despite slowing ad spending, Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) was still able to grow revenue by 13% during Q2, which included a strong 14% year-over-year growth rate for its Search division. Alphabet is also pouring money into its stock at an opportune time, with shares down 18% this year. The company bought back $15 billion worth of shares in Q2, putting its $12.5 billion in free cash flow generation to good use.

The Oakmark Global Select Fund expects Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) to generate strong advertising growth this year, saying this about the company in its Q2 2022 investor letter:

“Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG), a global communication services provider, was a top detractor to the Fund’s performance for the quarter. Investors were disappointed by the company’s first-quarter earnings report, though its results were largely in line with analysts’ expectations, including 23% revenue growth to $68 billion and a total operating margin of 30%. Search revenue improved 28% in constant currency, led by retail and the ongoing recovery in travel. Although YouTube’s brand advertising was strong, segment revenue decelerated due to difficult comparable sales and the adverse effects of the Russia/Ukraine war. However, share repurchases for the first quarter amounted to $13.3 billion and were tracking in line with our full-year estimate, and the company authorized an additional $70 billion for buybacks, adding to our confidence in management’s commitment to adding value for its shareholders. While an industry-wide trend of slowing advertising revenues persisted in the second quarter, we believe Alphabet’s total advertising business is still positioned to grow in the mid-teens in 2022 and that the stock remains an attractive holding.”

For more of the latest stock picks worth considering for your portfolio, check out Top 10 Stocks to Buy Now According to Billionaire Seth Klarman and 10 Dividend Stocks to Buy According to John Allison’s Unio Capital.

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