In this article, we discuss the top 10 stock picks of Ronald Hua’s QTRON Investments based on its Q3 2021 holdings and evaluate its performance based on the returns of these stocks over the past 12 months. You can skip our detailed analysis of Hua’s history, investment philosophy, and hedge fund performance, go directly to Was Ronald Hua’s QTRON Investments Right About These 5 Stocks?.
We prepared the actual contents of this article almost one year ago when we analyzed QTRON’s third quarter 2021 13F portfolio. We are publishing this article today because it’s always interesting for the readers to analyze how good the so-called “smart money” is when it comes to stock picking. When we look at the stock picks of hedge funds in hindsight, we can better analyze their performance and see whether they were right or wrong. A one-year window is enough to gauge the performance of any stock.
In this article you will see the top 10 stock picks of QTRON based on its Q3 2021 portfolio. For year stock we have mentioned its performance over the past 12 months as of November 19.
As you will see, most of the stocks in QTRON’s portfolio were crushed because of the macroeconomic headwinds that surfaced in 2022. However, many of these stocks might rebound in 2023 as several analysts believe the worst is over for the market.
At the time of writing we had mentioned analyst ratings for these stocks from famous Wall Street analysts. It’d be interesting for our readers to see how right or wrong were these analysts’ price targets and calls.
Ronald Hua is the cofounder of QTRON Investments. He has investment management experience spreading over 20 years. Before co-founding QTRON Investments, he was a partner at Goldman Sachs Asset Management and he served as a Chief Investment Officer in the Quantitative Investment Strategies Group from 2011 to 2016. At GSAM, he was responsible for overseeing active quantitative equity strategies and GSAM Insights Funds totaling $25 billion. Mr. Ronald Hua holds an MBA and an M.S. in Computer Science from New York University. He is also a CFA charter holder.
According to the third-quarter 13F filings of 2021, the portfolio value of the hedge fund was $371.72 million. Hua’s portfolio mainly consists of investments focused on the technology, financial, and healthcare sectors.
Some of the top stocks in the portfolio of QTRON Investments at the end of the third quarter of 2021 were Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), and Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG), amongst others.
10. JD.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:JD)
QTRON Investments’ Stake Value: $4.9 million
Percentage of QTRON Investments’ 13F Portfolio: 1.32%
JD’s Performance Over the Past 12 Months as of November 19: -38%
JD.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:JD) is the second-largest e-commerce company in China when it comes to transaction volume. The company offers a wide selection of authentic products at competitive prices and it provides speedy and reliable delivery.
Financial services company Macquarie Group resumed coverage and gave an outperform rating with the price target of $112. Analyst Ellie Jiang anticipates that growth momentum is likely to sustain in 2022.
At the end of the third quarter of 2021, 66 hedge funds in the database of Insider Monkey held stakes worth $9.06 billion in JD.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:JD), down from 76 in the preceding quarter worth $10.7 billion.
Argosy Investors, an investment management firm, published its Q3 2021 investor letter and mentioned JD.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:JD). Here is what Argosy Investors has to say about the company:
“We sold JD as a result of the furor over Chinese stocks during the quarter. We had been concerned about China’s lack of respect for investor rights for some time, and Beijing has become significantly more aggressive in asserting itself of late. In addition, the legal structure Chinese companies use to come public in the U.S., a Cayman Islands shell corporation leaves American investors with an unsure path to recovering value should these companies cease to trade on U.S. exchanges. Because of the uncertainty, we exited our position in JD completely. We still love JD’s long-term prospects, but we cannot estimate the legal/regulatory risk associated with these companies anymore. More broadly, we are freeing up cash for some other positions we already own which have declined in this market, and after additional review, remain attractive.”
9. Infosys Limited (NYSE:INFY)
QTRON Investments’ Stake Value: $5.2 million
Percentage of QTRON Investments’ 13F Portfolio: 1.4%
Infosys‘s Performance Over the Past 12 Months as of November 19: -17%
Infosys Limited (NYSE:INFY) is the global IT services provider and is based in Bangalore. The company provides traditional IT services offerings. These include consulting, managed services and cloud infrastructure services, and business process outsourcing as a service. Ronald Hua’s QTRON Investments increased stake in Infosys Limited (NYSE:INFY) by 4% during the third quarter of 2021 compared to the second quarter.
The company represents 1.4% of the total investment portfolio of QTRON Investments at the end of the third quarter of 2021.
At the end of the third quarter of 2021, 29 hedge funds in the database of Insider Monkey held stakes worth $2.47 billion in Infosys Limited (NYSE:INFY), up from 22 in the preceding quarter worth $2.15 billion.
8. Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. – Petrobras (NYSE:PBR)
QTRON Investments’ Stake Value: $5.2 million
Percentage of QTRON Investments’ 13F Portfolio: 1.4%
Petróleo’s Performance Over the Past 12 Months as of November 19: +16%
Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. – Petrobras (NASDAQ:PBR) is a Brazilian company and is one of the largest producers of oil and gas in the world. The company is principally engaged in exploration and production, refining, energy generation and trading. Ronald Hua’s QTRON Investments increased stake in Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. – Petrobras (NASDAQ:PBR) by 24% during the third quarter of 2021 compared to the second quarter.
The company represents 1.4% of the total investment portfolio of QTRON Investments at the end of the third quarter of 2021. At the end of the third quarter of 2021, 23 hedge funds in the database of Insider Monkey held stakes worth $3 billion in Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. – Petrobras (NASDAQ:PBR). In the preceding quarter, 25 hedge funds held stakes worth $2.79 billion.
In the third quarter of 2021, Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. – Petrobras (NASDAQ:PBR) reported sales revenues of $23.2 billion and adjusted EBITDA of $11.6 billion.
7. ICICI Bank Limited (NYSE:IBN)
QTRON Investments’ Stake Value: $5.4 million
Percentage of QTRON Investments’ 13F Portfolio: 1.44%
ICICI’s Performance Over the Past 12 Months as of November 19: +11%
ICICI Bank Limited (NYSE:IBN) is engaged in offering banking services. Its operating segments include retail banking, wholesale banking, treasury, and other banking business.
At the end of the third quarter of 2021, 28 hedge funds in the database of Insider Monkey held stakes worth $2.62 billion in ICICI Bank Limited (NYSE:IBN). Ronald Hua’s QTRON Investments increased its stake in the company by 27% during the third quarter of 2021 compared to the second quarter.
6. Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:FB)
QTRON Investments’ Stake Value: $5.6 million
Percentage of QTRON Investments’ 13F Portfolio: 1.5%
Meta’s Performance Over the Past 12 Months as of November 19: -67%
Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:FB), formerly known as Facebook, is the world’s largest online social network, having 2.5 billion monthly active users. The company’s ecosystem comprises mainly of the Facebook app, Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp, and several features around these products. The users can access Facebook with the help of their mobile devices and desktops.
Ronald Hua’s QTRON Investments increased stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:FB) by 13% during the third quarter of 2021 compared to the second quarter. At the end of the third quarter of 2021, 248 hedge funds in the database of Insider Monkey held stakes worth $38.5 billion in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:FB), down from 266 in the preceding quarter worth $42.3 billion.
Jefferies Group, an investment management firm, published its third-quarter 2021 investor letter and mentioned Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:FB). Here is what Jefferies Group has to say about the company:
“While still early, FB is in the process of building the platforms that will ultimately support the development the Metaverse. We look at FB’s position through the lens of 4 current investment initiatives: 1) Oculus VR hardware, 2) Smart glasses, 3) Augmented Reality lenses, and 4) “Horizon Workrooms”
Oculus Virtual Reality hardware: Since acquiring Oculus in 2014 ($2B deal), FB has been focused on developing best-in-class hardware and complementary software & services to support VR experiences. The Oculus Quest 2 is FB’s newest VR headset; it retails at $299 and allows users to play games, try fitness classes, play sports, and watch concerts in virtual environments. Most importantly, Quest 2 is linked to users’ Facebook accounts, which means users can seamlessly connect with friends in virtual environments to play games or spend time together. We believe one of FB’s biggest differentiators in VR is its large array of non-gaming experiences that were designed for Oculus. For instance, users can explore extreme terrain in National Geographic Explore VR, join virtual fitness classes, or simulate being a chef. As FB’s hardware continues to improve and becomes less cumbersome, we would expect a flywheel of greater developer and user adoption of VR.”
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Disclosure: None. Was Ronald Hua’s QTRON Investments Right About These 10 Stocks? is originally published on Insider Monkey.
