High-profile investors Michael Burry and David Tepper were buying Alibaba during the fourth quarter, potentially putting them in a position to profit from the reopening of the Chinese economy.
Scion Asset Management’s Michael Burry, whose activities shorting the U.S. mortgage market were chronicled in “The Big Short,” bought 50,000 ADR shares of Alibaba
BABA,
and 75,000 shares in Chinese retailer JD.com
JD,
as of Dec. 31, his latest 13-F filing showed.
According to latest filings, David Tepper’s Appaloosa increased its stake in Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. from 90,000 shares to 100,000.
Alibaba shares have gained 18% this year. However, Chinese stocks have been dragged down in the last week due to escalating tensions between the U.S. and China over suspected Chinese spy balloons.
Meanwhile, Viking Global Investors bought over 9 million shares in Chinese electric vehicle maker Li Auto
LI,
worth $185 million, a new holding for the nearly $20 billion hedge fund, though it cut its stake in biopharmaceutical company Zai Lab
ZLAB,
It is unclear whether Burry has sold these stocks by now. He cryptically tweeted the word “sell” on Jan. 31. Investors will have to wait till the next quarterly filing to see what he sold.
Chinese stocks seem to have been in vogue with other hedge fund managers last quarter. It could be because international equities, including Chinese stocks, “offer better risk-reward than U.S. equities,” JPMorgan’s top strategist Marko Kolanovic mused on Tuesday.
On the other hand, some fund managers reduced their Chinese equity holdings in the fourth quarter.
This includes Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, which last week sold another 4.235 million Hong Kong-listed shares of BYD
1211,
Buffett has been trimming its stake in the electric vehicle maker since August. Though the company remains a significant shareholder, it has sold almost 95 million of its 225 million shares.
Elsewhere, Fairholme Capital’s $1.1 billion portfolio, managed by Bruce Berkowitz, halved its stake in Alibaba. It now owns 7,610 shares in the Chinese e-commerce company.
Tiger Global Management’s Chase Coleman cut his stakes in most of his Chinese stock holdings. Firstly, in JD.com by over one quarter to 21.8 million shares, a 22% reduction in its shares in Hong-Kong-listen recruitment company Kanzhun Ltd
BZ,
to 13.8 million shares and a 20% reduction in Shanghai-headquartered AiHuiShou International Co. Ltd
RERE.x,
He still owns 4,000 shares in Pinduoduo Inc
PDD,
Source: https://www.marketwatch.com/story/michael-burry-and-david-tepper-snapped-up-alibaba-during-the-fourth-quarter-7082a1b3?siteid=yhoof2&yptr=yahoo