>>> Consensus New Buys
* Qualcomm (QCOM): For the first time in a while, there were hardly any consensus new buys. Qualcomm (QCOM) was one of the few acquired by numerous managers, including the likes of Maverick Capital, Coatue Management, and Duquesne Family Office. The company’s merger with NXP Semiconductor (NXPI) was blocked by Chinese regulators and the companies went their separate ways. NXPI was a consensus buy one quarter ago, and now the other half of the canceled merger graces the list this time around.
* Pinduoduo (PDD): This stock graces the list mainly because it was an initial public offering (IPO) and hedge funds possibly received allocations. Some of the managers that show new positions include Coatue, Tiger Global, and Viking Global. The company is a Chinese e-commerce retailer that focuses on lower tier cities in China. While it has become the trendy and popular retail play recently, the company has also struggled with problems of counterfeit products on its platform. It will be interesting to see if any funds retain their PDD stakes after receiving their IPO allocation. Thus far, shares have fallen from $27 to a low of $17 and currently trade around $23.
>>> Consensus Increased Positions
* Alibaba (BABA): This is the second consecutive quarter this stock lands on this list. And this time around, this was by far the most consensus buy among major hedge funds. Managers that were our accumulating more BABA include Tiger Management, Coatue, Third Point, Tiger Global, Viking Global, and Lone Pine Capital. Chinese shares in general have struggled in 2018 after having a stellar 2017. Worries of slowing emerging economies and the US-China trade war have weighed on shares. During Q3 when funds were buying, BABA traded down from $195 to a low of $153, and shares currently trade around $145. The company is still one of the most dominant in China so managers utilized the trade war weakness to bolster position sizes in a big way. Lone Pine, Viking, and Tiger Global in particular bought in size.
* Microsoft (MSFT): This is now the third consecutive quarter this stock has graced this list. This time Tiger Management, Glenview Capital, Duquesne Family Office, Third Point, and Lone Pine Capital all acquired more shares. While ‘FANG’ stocks dominate the headlines, MSFT continues to operate on all cylinders and shares increased from $100 to a high of $115 during the quarter.
* Adobe Systems (ADBE): This quarter Tiger Management, Third Point, Lone Pine, Tiger Global, and Duquesne Family Office all boosted their position sizes in ADBE. As detailed previously, the company has undergone a successful transition to a subscription based pricing system for its popular software products like Photoshop, Lightroom, and more.
>>> Consensus Sold Positions
* Dollar Tree (DLTR): Funds that completely sold out of DLTR shares include: Greenlight Capital, Lone Pine, and Maverick Capital.
* PagSeguro (PAGS): This Brazilian payment processor completed its initial public offering (IPO) earlier this year and competition in the space has itensified. Duquesne Family Office, Lone Pine, and Omega Advisors all sold their stakes this quarter.
* Facebook (FB): This stock graces both this list, as well as the consensus reduction list on the next page. As you can see, many funds soured on Facebook’s prospects as the company’s negative publicity deluge continued. They’re dealing with data privacy issues (Cambridge Analytica scandal), executive departures (the founders of WhatsApp and Instagram left the company), as well as reduced margins and guidance (which is likely the most concerning part to these funds). While many prominent funds still own stakes (and some were actually adding to their positions on the weakness), the wave of selling was quite noticeable this quarter.
* Walmart (WMT): The American retailing giant was sold by the likes of Berkshire Hathaway, Coatue Management, and Maverick Capital. The company recently invested in FlipKart, a major e-commerce player in India.
>>> Consensus Decreased Positions
* Facebook (FB): This is the second consecutive quarter this stock appears here. Funds that reduced stakes but still retain ownership include Duquesne, Maverick, Omega, Viking, Hound Partners, Appaloosa Management, Coatue, and Tiger Global.
* Alphabet (GOOGL): Hedge funds that trimmed stakes in Google’s parent company include Viking, SPO, Omega, Brave Warrior, and Glenview. While the stock is considered cheap by many investors, there has been a rise in chatter concerning the company being a monopoly and needing to be regulated.
* Liberty Global (LBTYK): This European cable giant lands on this list for the third consecutive quarter. This time around, funds that trimmed their stakes included Maverick, SQ Advisors, Brave Warrior Advisors, and SPO Advisory. The company’s transaction with Vodafone (VOD) for various assets is under regulatory review and John Malone said in a recent CNBC interview that he thinks there’s “at least 80%” chance the deal goes through and he notes it’s a very tax efficient transaction that will give LBTYK a lot of capital to re-deploy afterwards. Assuming the deal closes, Malone says LBTYK shares are “certainly undervalued.”
* Micron Technology (MU): Maverick, Omega, Coatue, and Appaloosa all brought down exposure. Separately, Greenlight completely exited the stock after timing the cycle right this time around.