Druckenmiller dumps Alphabet, Amazon and Broadcom but Nvidia remains largest holding

By Joseph Adinolfi

Duquesne Family Office, the investment vehicle belonging to famed macro investor Stanley Druckenmiller, dumped shares of Alphabet Inc., Amazon.com (AMZN) and Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) while scooping up shares of beaten-down gold miners Barrick Gold Corp. (GOLD) and Newmont Corp. (NEM), according to a Wednesday filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The filing showed that the family office also bought shares of Adobe Inc. (ADBE) and Arista Networks (ANET), two companies that have benefited from the artificial-intelligence craze, while dumping shares of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. (BABA).

In another AI-related play, Druckenmiller bought 64,715 shares of Palo Alto Networks (PANW) last quarter, according to the filing.

AI remained a prominent theme in Druckenmiller's portfolio as of Dec. 31, Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) was Druckenmiller's biggest position, with his fund holding shares worth nearly $550 million.

Druckenmiller touted Nvidia as an artificial-intelligence play early last year, before saying that the stock was in "nosebleed" territory in the fall. Shares of the chipmaker have nearly doubled in value since then: They're up nearly 50% since the start of 2024 alone, according to FactSet data. The company comprises roughly 16% of Druckenmiller's total equity holdings.

The legendary fund manager, who rose to prominence due to his work with George Soros, closed his firm to outside investors more than a decade ago. However, his views on markets remain sought-after by the financial press and both investment professionals and amateurs alike.

His decision to sell shares of Alphabet (GOOG) (GOOGL) is notable for a seemingly quick exit: He bought the stock during the third quarter of 2023.

He also sold about 50,000 shares of Eli Lilly (LLY), which has rocketed into the ranks of the top 10 most valuable companies in the S&P 500 over the past few months due to its weight-loss and diabetes drugs Zepbound and Mounjaro, according to FactSet data.

All told, Duquesne had a strong quarter for his equity portfolio. The value of his total stock holdings rose by more than 20% to nearly $3.4 billion.

Hedge funds and family offices are required to report their holdings quarterly to the SEC, but the filing only includes long positions in stocks, and may not offer a complete picture of Duquesne's holdings or performance.

-Joseph Adinolfi

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02-14-24 1729ET

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