Billionaire investor David Tepper’s hedge fund has increased its bets on Chinese technology stocks in the first three months of 2024, while reducing its exposure to some major domestic companies. Appaloosa Management’s quarterly report on Wednesday showed Alibaba is now the largest holding after buying hundreds of millions of dollars worth of stock. Likewise, the fund significantly increased its holdings in Pinduoduo and Baidu, pushing both companies into its top 10 holdings, according to securities filings and VerityData. The fund’s new additions also have a Chinese bent. Stocks that Appaloosa added to its holdings in the first quarter but not enough to become a major holding include Adobe, iShares FTSE China Large-Cap ETF (FXI), JD.com and Kraneshares CSI China Internet ETF (KWEB). Appaloosa still has sizable positions in U.S. technology companies, but trimmed many of them during the quarter, including Alphabet and Meta Platforms. The fund also revealed that it holds put options on Microsoft, which could signal more selling in the second quarter. Outside of technology, Appaloosa exited a small position in hospital stock HCA Holdings and added a small position in Boeing. The hedge fund’s quarterly report did not indicate the timing and price of the trades or whether the positions had changed since the end of March. However, Chinese technology stocks have been trending higher, with KWEB rising 19% in the second quarter. Tepper founded Appaloosa more than 30 years ago and in 2019 said he planned to convert the fund into a family office. He also owns the NFL’s Carolina Panthers.
