Billionaire investor Ken Griffin, founder and CEO of Citadel Advisors, is known for his open-mindedness toward diverse asset classes and his quantitative investing approach. His personal net worth is estimated at $50.1 billion (£37.6 billion), according to Forbes.
In Q3, his hedge fund purchased millions of shares of the Magnificent 7 stocks amid the AI boom and impressive quarterly earnings results.
Griffin’s decision is not surprising, given that the Magnificent 7 ranks among the top 10 biggest stocks globally by market capitalisation. However, he trimmed his stake in one of these stocks despite a robust growth outlook.
Insights Into His Stock Purchases in Q3
Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) is Citadel’s largest holding, as the hedge fund doubled its stake in the company by 1.99 million shares in Q3.
The significant increase in Microsoft shares left Nvidia (Nasdaq: NVDA) in second place. Griffin’s fund purchased 1.73 million shares of Nvidia in Q3, increasing its stake by more than 21%.
The biggest increase was in Meta Platforms (Nasdaq: META). Citadel raised its holdings in Mark Zuckerberg‘s company by 12,693%, or 1.95 million shares, in Q3. Meta is now Citadel’s third-largest holding.
Apple ranked fourth, with Citadel increasing its stake by 108%, or 2.56 million shares, last quarter.
Griffin’s hedge fund also boosted its stake in Elon Musk’s Tesla (Nasdaq: TSLA) by over 279%, or 1.1 million shares, and in Alphabet (Nasdaq: GOOGL) by 200%, or 1.25 million shares, in Q3.
Griffin Leaves Out Amazon
In Q3, Citadel sold 2.1 million shares of Amazon (Nasdaq: AMZN), trimming its stake by over 39%.
It is not clear why Griffin made this trade. Amazon Web Services benefits from the same AI tailwinds as Microsoft and Google, though AWS’s growth rate isn’t as fast as its peers.
It’s unlikely to be profit-taking, as Amazon’s stock fell during part of Q3. The company’s Q3 update was viewed as encouraging, with quarterly results beating expectations.
The advertising segment is a major growth driver, with revenue rising 24% year-over-year in Q3. Amazon still has room to grow in the e-commerce market, with a global retail market share of about 1%, as CEO Andy Jassy noted last year.
Meanwhile, AWS has substantial growth opportunities. Jassy stated during Q3 earnings calls that the cloud unit is heavily investing and well-positioned to be a market leader.
Amazon is also entering new markets, planning to offer satellite internet early next year. Its robotaxis have begun operating in Las Vegas, with Washington, D.C. next.
Griffin’s decision may simply be portfolio rebalancing. Citadel has owned Amazon shares for several years.
Overall, Griffin’s moves in Q3 highlight a keen eye for high-growth tech stocks, while also showing that even the most confident investors know when to trim positions. His decision to reduce Amazon shares, despite its strong fundamentals and growth prospects, might just be a case of portfolio rebalancing rather than a lack of faith in the company.
As the market continues to evolve, Griffin’s approach seems to remain rooted in balancing opportunity with caution, a strategy that’s served him well over the years.
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Originally published on IBTimes UK
