Tesla will be the leader of the EV market, as the company is leading the charge in key areas, Cathie Wood said.
The ARK Invest CEO pointed to Tesla’s focus in autonomy and energy storage.
Wood predicted Tesla stock would jump to $1,500 in five years, implying a 650% increase from current levels.
George Soros, Steve Cohen, and Jim Simons’ funds piled into Tesla and other trendy names last quarter, while Jim Chanos took aim at meme stocks. Here’s a roundup of 5 key trades.
Several elite investors took positions in Tesla and other trendy stocks last quarter.
George Soros, Steve Cohen, and Jim Simons’ funds bet big on Elon Musk’s car company.
Short seller Jim Chanos placed wagers against Tesla, AMC, and other high-flying stocks.
Some of the world’s top investors piled into Tesla and other trendy stocks last quarter, while a notable short seller bet against them.
George Soros, Steve Cohen, and Jim Simons’ funds bought shares of Elon Musk’s automaker in the three months ended December 31, Securities and Exchange Commission filings revealed this week. Meanwhile, Ray Dalio’s hedge fund boosted its bets on GameStop and AMC Entertainment, two classic meme stocks.
In contrast, Jim Chanos ramped up his wager against Tesla, and revealed a slew of bearish positions in AMC and other popular stocks.
Here are 5 big funds that placed bets on Tesla and other trendy stocks last quarter:
1. Soros Fund Management
Soros Fund Management scooped up about 42,000 Tesla shares last quarter. The purchases increased its stake by almost half to around 132,000 shares, worth over $16 million as of December 31.
George Soros’ fund also bought bullish call options on another 200,000 shares of the automaker. Those likely paid off, given the roughly 60% rise in Tesla’s stock price this year.
2. Point72 Asset Management
Steve Cohen’s Point72 Asset Management grew its stash of Tesla call options from 50,000 to 60,500 last quarter.
The New York Mets owner’s hedge fund also purchased 878,000 Tesla shares worth $108 million at the end of December, propelling Musk’s company into the top 60 of its nearly 1,500 holdings at the year end.
Moreover, Point72 built a new stake in GameStop, the video-game retailer that became the ultimate meme stock in January 2021. The fund’s 606,000 shares were worth $11 million as of December 31.
3. Renaissance Technologies
Jim Simons’ Renaissance Technologies raised its Tesla stake from 1,400 shares to 3.4 million last quarter. The purchases lifted the value of its position by more than 1,000 times, from under $400,000 to over $400 million as of December 31.
It’s worth noting the fund relies on algorithms to decide many of its trades and frequently changes its positions, limiting the insight offered by its quarterly filings.
4. Bridgewater Associates
Ray Dalio’s Bridgewater Associates almost tripled its stake in GameStop to nearly 39,000 shares last quarter. Its bet on the video-game retailer was valued at $712,000 at the end of December.
The billionaire investor’s hedge fund also nearly tripled its stake in fellow meme stock AMC to around 64,000 shares. Its position in the movie-theater chain was worth $261,000 at the year’s close.
5. Chanos & Company
Jim Chanos’ fund massively ramped up its bet against Tesla and placed bearish wagers against meme stocks, cryptocurrency companies, and high-flying technology stocks last quarter.
Chanos & Company held put options on 131,000 Tesla shares as of December 31, up from only 5,900 shares three months earlier. It also bought puts on AMC, Digital World Acquisition Corporation, Coinbase, Microstrategy, and DoorDash last quarter.
6/6 SLIDES
Tesla is going to emerge as the winner of the electric vehicle market, as the company is leading the industry in key factors that distinguish it from its competitors, according to Ark Invest’s Cathie Wood.
“I think the companies that are going to win are not focused only on electric. They’re focused on autonomous,” Wood said in a Bloomberg Intelligence webinar posted on Thursday.
In addition to robotics and artificial intelligence, which will power autonomous electric vehicles, she also pointed to energy storage, saying advances in battery technology will give electric vehicles lower costs than typical gas-powered vehicles.
“We believe that Tesla from a thought leadership point of view, is leading the charge, so to speak, in this movement towards autonomous electric vehicles,” she said.
Woods believes Tesla would be at the forefront of the autonomous taxi platform market, more so than its other competitors, such as Chinese EV makers like BYD.
That’s because they aren’t focusing enough on autonomous vehicles, and Tesla models are also of higher quality, she said.
“I do believe that Tesla has, for a given price, the best range and performance of any car on the market today,” Wood added.
Her bullish outlook comes amid a strong start to the year for Tesla, with the stock soaring 84% since January, despite tanking 65% in 2022.
The company was among other tech and growth firms that struggled amid rising inflation and interest rate hikes, but has soared after reporting record profits over the past quarter and slashing prices to boost demand.
Wood has been a prominent bull on Tesla stock, and has plowed more money into the EV maker in multiple buying sprees this year. The company is the largest holding in Wood’s flagship ARK Innovation ETF.
She told Bloomberg that she has five-year, $1,500 price target on Tesla, representing a 650% jump from current levels.
