sold – Earlybirds Invest https://earlybirdsinvest.com Latest Crypto News Sun, 14 Sep 2025 18:40:59 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.9 https://i0.wp.com/earlybirdsinvest.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/cropped-New-Project-2024-12-17T235703.455.png?fit=32%2C32&ssl=1 sold – Earlybirds Invest https://earlybirdsinvest.com 32 32 240146708 Billionaire Phillipe Laffont Sold Coatue Management's Stake in Super Micro Computer and Snapped Up This Surgical Robotics Pioneer That's Up 19,390% Since Its IPO https://earlybirdsinvest.com/billionaire-phillipe-laffont-sold-coatue-managements-stake-in-super-micro-computer-and-snapped-up-this-surgical-robotics-pioneer-thats-up-19390-since-its-ipo/ https://earlybirdsinvest.com/billionaire-phillipe-laffont-sold-coatue-managements-stake-in-super-micro-computer-and-snapped-up-this-surgical-robotics-pioneer-thats-up-19390-since-its-ipo/#respond Sun, 14 Sep 2025 18:40:59 +0000 https://earlybirdsinvest.com/billionaire-phillipe-laffont-sold-coatue-managements-stake-in-super-micro-computer-and-snapped-up-this-surgical-robotics-pioneer-thats-up-19390-since-its-ipo/ An unbeatable advantage makes this stock a popular one among billionaire investors.

Philippe Laffont was known for successfully investing in technology stocks before he founded Coatue Management, a technology-focused hedge fund, in 1999. Since then, he has grown the fund’s size to more $35 billion in assets under management.

Laffont has his finger on the pulse of the artificial intelligence (AI) revolution. His contrarian investment in Super Micro Computer, a company that manufactures high-end servers for data centers, turned some heads earlier this year.

Smart investor on the phone with lots of stock charts on computers in the background.

Image source: Getty Images.

Coatue bought into Supermicro at a controversial moment, but it seems Laffont had a change of heart. At the end of June, there were zero shares of the custom server builder in its portfolio.

While Coatue was disposing of Supermicro with its left hand, it was buying up shares of Intuitive Surgical (ISRG -1.34%) with its right. The hedge fund snapped up 39,512 shares of the robot-assisted surgery pioneer in the second quarter.

Intuitive Surgical stock has tumbled this year, but Laffont has reasons to expect a rebound. Here’s a look at what they are to see whether this stock could be a good fit for your portfolio.

An unbeatable advantage

When the market closed on Sept. 12, 2025, shares of Intuitive Surgical were up 19,390% since its initial public offering (IPO) 25 years ago. A few years before its IPO, the Food and Drug Administration made the company’s da Vinci robotic surgical system the first one with clearance to assist with minimally invasive abdominal surgeries.

Medtronic, Johnson & Johnson, and Stryker market surgical robots, but they entered the market after Intuitive Surgical. The pioneer is still the largest member of its industry. At the end of 2024, there were 11,040 Intuitive Surgical systems installed in hospitals worldwide.

Intuitive’s massive installed base of machines isn’t sitting idle either. Surgical teams trained to use da Vinci systems performed 2.7 million procedures last year. Plus, Ion, its more recently launched lung tumor biopsy machine, performed 95,000 procedures last year.

To date, competing systems generally address procedures that don’t already employ da Vinci systems, such as knee replacements and spinal surgeries. Hospital systems can spend more than $1 million installing a da Vinci system and then an even larger sum supporting and training the professionals who will use it. That’s a huge advantage over newer surgical systems that competitors probably won’t be able to overcome.

Placing systems and training surgeons to use them generates revenue for Intuitive, but these aren’t the main sources. Around 84% of total revenue last year came from recurring sources such as instruments and accessories that must be replaced before each procedure.

Why Intuitive Surgical stock is down

Intuitive Surgical has been a terrific stock for its long-term shareholders, but it’s been a stinker this year. It’s down about 26% from a peak it set in February.

Fear that tariffs will pressure profit margins has been a weight on Intuitive Surgical’s stock price. When reporting second-quarter results in July, management reduced its adjusted gross profit margin expectation to a range between 66% and 67%. That would be a minor decline from the 69.1% gross margin reported last year, but this temporary setback is hardly a reason to avoid the stock.

Earlier this year, Medtronic submitted an application to the Food and Drug Administration to perform urology procedures with its Hugo RAS system. Roughly one-fifth of all procedures performed with da Vinci machines last year were in the urology category.

Investors concerned that the Hugo system will pull market share from da Vinci should know that its launch overseas hasn’t been very successful. It’s been authorized for sale in the European Union since 2021, but Medtronic still doesn’t tell investors how much revenue Hugo’s generating in its quarterly reports.

Time to buy?

In the U.S., hospitals considering a new surgical system for urologic surgeries could have a new option from Medtronic by the end of the year. Luckily for Intuitive Surgical, the da Vinci 5 system, which launched in March 2024, already makes Medtronic’s Hugo system seem outdated.

Despite tariff pressure, investors can expect significant growth from Intuitive Surgical. Management is forecasting overall procedure growth of 15.5% to 17.0% this year. High switching costs for hospitals could lead to procedure growth that continues rising for another decade or two.

With a stock price that’s been trading at 55.3 times forward earnings expectations, investors are already expecting profit growth at a double-digit percentage for years to come. Intuitive Surgical stock could fall hard if Medtronic or another competitor begins pressuring sales growth in the years ahead.

Given Hugo’s performance in the E.U., threats from well-heeled competitors appear toothless. Adding some shares to a diverse portfolio now could be the right move for investors with a high risk tolerance.

Cory Renauer has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Intuitive Surgical. The Motley Fool recommends Johnson & Johnson and Medtronic and recommends the following options: long January 2026 $75 calls on Medtronic and short January 2026 $85 calls on Medtronic. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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Tether CEO refutes claims that the firm sold Bitcoin and bought gold https://earlybirdsinvest.com/tether-ceo-refutes-claims-that-the-firm-sold-bitcoin-and-bought-gold/ https://earlybirdsinvest.com/tether-ceo-refutes-claims-that-the-firm-sold-bitcoin-and-bought-gold/#respond Mon, 08 Sep 2025 08:55:29 +0000 https://earlybirdsinvest.com/tether-ceo-refutes-claims-that-the-firm-sold-bitcoin-and-bought-gold/

Paolo Ardoino, CEO of Tether, the issuer of the largest stablecoin USDT, took to X on Sunday to refute claims about the firm selling its Bitcoin (BTC) to invest in gold. In his post, Ardoino wrote that “Tether didn’t sell any Bitcoin,” adding that:

“While the world continues to get darker, Tether will continue to invest part of its profits into safe assets like Bitcoin, Gold and Land.”

How the rumor started

On Sept. 6, YouTuber Clive Thompson claimed that “recently, Tether has been buying gold and selling Bitcoin.” Thompson’s assertion was based on an examination of Tether’s statements of assets.

According to Thompson, Tether sold over $1 billion BTC and purchased over $1.6 billion gold in the last quarter. This indicates that Tether is dumping Bitcoin in favor of gold, as per Thompson.

Flaws in Thompson’s claims

Jan3 CEO Samson Mow pointed out flaws in Thompson’s theory based on public data. In an X post, Mow explained that Thompson arrived at the wrong conclusion since he assumed that a fall in BTC holdings of Tether automatically meant they sold it for gold.

In the first and second quarter of this year, Tether reported holdings of 92,650 BTC and 83,274 BTC respectively. According to Mow, Thompson forgot to factor in Tether’s funding of a separate project called Twenty One Capital (XXI). Tether transferred 14,000 BTC on June 2 and 5,800 BTC in July, sending a total of 19,800 BTC to XXI.

Therefore, Mow explained that Tether had 4,624 BTC more in Q2 2025 than the previous quarter. Accounting for July’s transfer, Tether “has (at least) a net increase in Bitcoin holdings of 10,424 BTC,” Mow wrote.

Consequently, Mow dismissed Thompson’s claim as “false” and labeled it a “desperate” attempt to create bearish news surrounding Bitcoin.

Tether’s deepening relationship with Gold

The latest development surrounding Tether comes just days after the company announced that it’s looking into investing in gold mining firms. But Tether has been diversifying into gold for a while.

In June, the stablecoin issuer spent $90 million to acquire a substantial stake in a company specializing in gold royalties. Earlier this week, Tether announced that it will pour another $100 million into the same firm—Elemental Altus Royalties Corp.

Additionally, Tether issues the gold-backed stablecoin Tether Gold (XAUT)—XAUT is backed by about 7.66 tons of gold stored in Switzerland. Around 5% of USDT reserves is also held in gold by Tether.

Mentioned in this article
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Billionaire Philippe Laffont Has Sold Shares of Nvidia for 8 Consecutive Quarters and Is Loading Up On This Historically Cheap Artificial Intelligence (AI) Stock Instead https://earlybirdsinvest.com/billionaire-philippe-laffont-has-sold-shares-of-nvidia-for-8-consecutive-quarters-and-is-loading-up-on-this-historically-cheap-artificial-intelligence-ai-stock-instead/ https://earlybirdsinvest.com/billionaire-philippe-laffont-has-sold-shares-of-nvidia-for-8-consecutive-quarters-and-is-loading-up-on-this-historically-cheap-artificial-intelligence-ai-stock-instead/#respond Thu, 14 Aug 2025 07:39:29 +0000 https://earlybirdsinvest.com/billionaire-philippe-laffont-has-sold-shares-of-nvidia-for-8-consecutive-quarters-and-is-loading-up-on-this-historically-cheap-artificial-intelligence-ai-stock-instead/ Coatue Management’s billionaire investor has been swapping out shares of Wall Street’s premier AI stock for a dual-industry leader in the world’s No. 2 economy.

Investors may not realize it, but today (Aug. 14) is one of the most important days of the entire quarter. While earnings season is critical in helping investors learn about the operating health of America’s leading businesses, Form 13F filings, which are due today, are equally invaluable.

A 13F is a required filing due no later than 45 calendar days following the end to a quarter for institutional investors with at least $100 million in assets under management. It allows investors to track which stocks Wall Street’s smartest money managers purchased and sold in the latest quarter (in this instance, the June-ended quarter), as well as identify which trends have the attention of successful fund managers.

Silver dice that read, buy and sell, being rolled across a digital screen displaying stock charts and volume data.

Image source: Getty Images.

Although Warren Buffett is the stock market’s most followed billionaire investor, he’s far from the only billionaire known for their outsized investment returns. For instance, Coatue Management’s Philippe Laffont, who’s been a big investor of the artificial intelligence (AI) revolution, is known for spotting phenomenal deals hiding in plain sight.

Laffont’s approach to the evolution of AI has been particularly interesting. Specifically, he’s pared down his fund’s stake in the face of the AI movement, Nvidia (NVDA -0.83%), for eight straight quarters, and has been buying shares of another historically cheap AI stock hand over fist.

Coatue Management’s billionaire chief has sold 83% of his fund’s Nvidia stake

While some billionaire money managers bid adieu to AI-graphics processing unit (GPU) colossus Nvidia many quarters ago, Coatue Management billionaire boss has been paring down his fund’s stake with some degree of consistency for two full years. Accounting for Nvidia’s historic 10-for-1 stock split in June 2024, Laffont has overseen an 83% reduction in his fund’s position in this AI powerhouse:

  • Q1 2023: 49,802,020 shares of Nvidia
  • Q2 2023: 46,449,700 shares
  • Q3 2023: 45,410,400 shares
  • Q4 2023: 43,222,010 shares
  • Q1 2024: 13,851,410 shares
  • Q2 2024: 13,754,447 shares
  • Q3 2024: 10,138,161 shares
  • Q4 2024: 10,006,488 shares
  • Q1 2025: 8,545,835 shares

With Coatue’s average top-20 position held for roughly 21 months, as of the end of March, it demonstrates that Laffont and his top advisors aren’t shy about locking in gains when presented with the opportunity. Nvidia shares catapulting more than twelvefold since the start of 2023 has given Coatue’s brightest investor plenty of reason to cash in his chips.

The concern with Philippe Laffont’s persistent selling spanning eight quarters is there may be more than profit-taking on his mind.

For instance, while the addressable opportunity for AI is sky-high, historical precedent shows that every next-big-thing trend for three decades has endured a bubble-bursting event early in its expansion. Investors have a tendency to overhype the utility and early stage adoption rates of new technologies, which eventually leads to these lofty expectations not being met. No company has been a more direct beneficiary of the evolution of AI than Nvidia, which suggests it would potentially be the hardest hit if the AI bubble were to burst.

Another possible consideration for Philippe Laffont is growing competition in the AI-GPU space. Make no mistake about it, Nvidia’s Hopper (H100) and Blackwell GPUs are at the top of the pedestal, in terms of compute ability. But this doesn’t mean Hopper and Blackwell won’t endure headwinds in the coming quarters and years.

Specifically, internal competition could prove to be a thorn in Nvidia’s side. Many of its leading customers by net sales are developing AI-GPUs and solutions for their data centers. Even though these chips are slower than Nvidia’s and they pose no external competitive threat, they’re considerably cheaper, more readily accessible, and capable of taking up valuable data-center real estate. In short, these chips could crush Nvidia’s pristine pricing power and gross margin.

Nvidia’s valuation is worrisome, as well. Historically, megacap companies have peaked with price-to-sales (P/S) ratios of roughly 30 to 40. Nvidia is tipping the scales at a P/S ratio of more than 30, as of the closing bell on Aug. 11.

Two engineers checking wires and switches on an enterprise data center server tower.

Image source: Getty Images.

Billionaire Philippe Laffont can’t stop buying this cash-rich AI stock

On the other end of the spectrum is a historically cheap and cash-rich artificial intelligence stock that Coatue Management’s billionaire chief can’t stop buying. I’m talking about China-based Alibaba Group (BABA 3.73%).

When 2024 came to a close, Alibaba was a relatively forgettable holding in Coatue’s portfolio, with just 192,728 shares held. But during the first quarter, Laffont came close to 20Xing this stake to 3,801,703 shares, based on the filed 13F.

While Alibaba’s growth ambitions very much rely on AI, this isn’t the company’s foundational operating segment responsible for most of its cash flow. Alibaba laid its roots through its e-commerce operations in China.

Whereas online retail sales have matured in the U.S., a burgeoning middle class in the world’s No. 2 economy by gross domestic product can generate high-octane e-commerce sales growth for the foreseeable future. Based on an analysis from DBS Treasures, Taobao and Tmall combine to account for a 41% share of China’s e-commerce space. These platforms should have little issue continuing to generate bountiful cash flow that Alibaba can redirect to faster-growing and/or higher-margin initiatives.

However, e-commerce isn’t the only arena that Alibaba Group is leading. According to estimates from tech analysis firm Canalys, Alibaba Cloud reined in 33% of Mainland China’s cloud infrastructure service spending during the first quarter, which was nearly double the 18% share Huawei Cloud earned as the No. 2 cloud infrastructure services provider.

Alibaba is aggressively incorporating generative AI solutions into its cloud platform and giving its clients access to the tools needed to build and train large language models. The expectation is that these AI solutions will enhance demand (and margins) for Alibaba Cloud.

Something else that’s likely attracted Laffont to Alibaba is the company’s capital-return program. It closed out fiscal 2025 (ended March 31) with $51.6 billion in cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments, along with $7.4 billion in equity securities and $6 billion in restricted cash. When combined with the cash flow being generated from Alibaba’s numerous operating segments, there’s more than enough capital available for share repurchases and dividends.

The proverbial cherry on the sundae is that Alibaba Group stock is historically inexpensive at an estimated 11 times forward-year earnings. This is modestly lower than its average forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio over the past half-decade, and it stands out amid a historically pricey stock market.

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Little Pepe’s Meme Coin Presale Reaches $16,475,000 With Stage 9 Now Sold Out https://earlybirdsinvest.com/little-pepes-meme-coin-presale-reaches-16475000-with-stage-9-now-sold-out/ https://earlybirdsinvest.com/little-pepes-meme-coin-presale-reaches-16475000-with-stage-9-now-sold-out/#respond Thu, 07 Aug 2025 06:19:54 +0000 https://earlybirdsinvest.com/little-pepes-meme-coin-presale-reaches-16475000-with-stage-9-now-sold-out/

August 7th, 2025 – Dubai, UAE


class=”ql-align-justify”>Little Pepe has officially crossed a major milestone, with Stage 9 of its presale selling out after raising $16,475,000 in total.

The Ethereum-based meme coin has recorded widespread online engagement as it proceeds through the final phases of its presale. To date, 11.25? billion LILPEPE tokens have been allocated, with participation continuing across multiple channels.

According to the Little Pepe team, the level of participation in its presale reflects a broader shift within the cryptocurrency sector, where culturally driven, community-led tokens are being developed in parallel with technical frameworks designed for long-term utility. The team views this combination of cultural relevance and blockchain infrastructure as a key factor in the evolving landscape of meme coin projects. Little Pepe is displaying the identical early symptoms of success that surrounded meme coin giants in their early days—but with a clearer roadmap and far greater engaged surroundings.

Underlying Infrastructure Supports Meme Coin Format

At a glance, Little Pepe fits the meme coin mold—funny frog memes, viral social posts, and a low entry price. But dig a little deeper, and the challenge begins to reveal a few serious fundamentals. Built on Ethereum, Little Pepe benefits from robust security, strong developer support, and seamless integration with existing DeFi tools. This makes it more than just a speculative gamble—it’s a meme coin with real infrastructure behind it.

What’s more, the Little Pepe team has continuously added to their roadmap goals, achieving presale targets quicker than expected. Their advertising technique has been laser-based, attractive meme groups throughout Telegram and X (previously Twitter), at the same time as concurrently attracting new buyers from DeFi and Ethereum ecosystems.

According to the Little Pepe team, each presale stage has sold out more quickly than the last, which they view as a sign of growing momentum around the project. The team notes increased attention from both early participants and new users as the presale moves toward its final stages and potential exchange activity.

Community Growth Cited as Key Driver

A meme coin is only as strong as its community—and Little Pepe has one of the fastest-growing supporter bases in the space right now. Thousands of followers across social platforms are actively engaging with the brand, sharing memes, participating in AMAs, and even creating fan content.

According to the project team, community engagement has played a significant role in the pace at which each presale stage has concluded. The team reports participation from a broad range of online users—including influencers, traders, and NFT collectors—who they believe are drawn to both the cultural appeal of the project and its perceived long-term potential.

What Comes Next?

With Stage 9 now completed, the presale enters its final phases. The team will set a higher token price for the upcoming stages, as defined in the presale structure. Participation is expected to continue as the project progresses, though no specific exchange listings have been confirmed at this time.

While no specific exchange listings have been announced, the team has indicated that discussions are ongoing. Any future listings could improve token accessibility and market visibility, though timelines and platforms have not been confirmed. Broader market conditions, including interest in meme coins, may also influence how such developments unfold.

A Meme Coin With 2025 Potential

Meme coins continue to represent an active segment of the cryptocurrency market, often characterized by the intersection of thematic branding, tokenomics, and online engagement. The Little Pepe project incorporates several of these elements, including community-focused initiatives and Ethereum-based infrastructure, as part of its broader strategy.

As 2025 approaches, the Little Pepe team views the project’s $16 million+ presale raise and expanding community engagement as indicators of growing market relevance. They consider these developments signs that the project is gaining momentum within the broader meme coin space, as discussions around its progress continue across online platforms.

About Little Pepe

Little Pepe is a next-gen Layer 2 blockchain designed to merge meme culture with high-speed, low-cost decentralized infrastructure. Built for scalability, security, and accessibility, Little Pepe supports EVM-compatible applications and is powered by means of the LILPEPE token. The project’s mission is to create a meme coin environment wherein utility meets virality, empowering users through cutting-edge technology and lightning-fast transactions.

For more information:

Website: https://littlepepe.com/

Telegram: https://t.me/littlepepetoken

Twitter: https://x.com/littlepepetoken

Contact

James Stephen
media@littlepepe.com

This content is sponsored and should be regarded as promotional material. Opinions and statements expressed herein are those of the author and do not reflect the opinions of The Daily Hodl. The Daily Hodl is not a subsidiary of or owned by any ICOs, blockchain startups or companies that advertise on our platform. Investors should do their due diligence before making any high-risk investments in any ICOs, blockchain startups or cryptocurrencies. Please be advised that your investments are at your own risk, and any losses you may incur are your responsibility.

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Billionaire Dan Loeb Sold Third Point's Entire Stake in Meta Platforms and Has Piled Into a Market Leader Whose Addressable Market Can 25X in a Decade https://earlybirdsinvest.com/billionaire-dan-loeb-sold-third-points-entire-stake-in-meta-platforms-and-has-piled-into-a-market-leader-whose-addressable-market-can-25x-in-a-decade/ https://earlybirdsinvest.com/billionaire-dan-loeb-sold-third-points-entire-stake-in-meta-platforms-and-has-piled-into-a-market-leader-whose-addressable-market-can-25x-in-a-decade/#respond Wed, 23 Jul 2025 08:13:36 +0000 https://earlybirdsinvest.com/billionaire-dan-loeb-sold-third-points-entire-stake-in-meta-platforms-and-has-piled-into-a-market-leader-whose-addressable-market-can-25x-in-a-decade/ Third Point’s billionaire chief is loading up on shares of a company that’s staring down an estimated $4.8 trillion global opportunity by 2033.

Between earnings season — the six-week period every quarter where a majority of the most-influential businesses report their operating results — economic data releases, and updates from the Trump administration, keeping up on market-moving news events can be challenging for investors. In fact, it’s easy for something of importance to slip through the cracks.

One key data release that investors might have overlooked is the May 15 deadline for institutional investors with at least $100 million in assets under management to file Form 13F with the Securities and Exchange Commission. A 13F is required to be filed no later than 45 calendar days following the end to a quarter, and it provides investors with a concise snapshot of which stocks Wall Street’s top-tier asset managers have been buying and selling.

Though 13Fs have their flaws — e.g., they can offer a stale snapshot for very active hedge funds — they’re invaluable in helping investors piece together which stocks and trends have the undivided attention of successful fund managers.

A stock chart displayed on a computer monitor that's being reflected on the eyeglasses of a money manager.

Image source: Getty Images.

While investors tend to wait on the edge of their seat to see what billionaire Warren Buffett has been up to, he’s far from the only billionaire known to make waves in the stock market. Third Point’s Dan Loeb is another billionaire asset manager known for spotting good deals.

During the March-ended quarter, Third Point’s billionaire chief made two curious trades in the artificial intelligence (AI) arena. He sent his fund’s entire stake in Meta Platforms (META -0.98%) packing, and loaded up on shares of an undisputed AI leader whose addressable market can potentially grow 25-fold over a 10-year stretch.

Billionaire Dan Loeb’s Third Point logs out of Meta

Based on Third Point’s 13F, Loeb completely exited nine positions during the first quarter, none of which is more of an eyebrow-raiser than social media titan Meta Platforms. Loeb green-lit the sale of all 665,000 shares that were held at the end of 2024.

It’s quite possible that this sale represented nothing more than a profit-taking opportunity for Third Point’s billionaire chief. On average, Loeb’s fund holds its positions for a little over 13 months, and Third Point’s Meta stake had been initiated during the third quarter of 2023. With Meta stock more than doubling during this period, Loeb had plenty of reason to cash in his chips.

The question is: Was something more nefarious behind this selling activity than just benign profit-taking?

One concern is the potential for the U.S. economy to fall into a recession. Though the New York Federal Reserve’s recession probability tool only shows 28.7% chance of a recession occurring through June 2026, it has an uncanny track record of successfully forecasting economic downturns when this probability climbs above 32%, which it did in 2023 and 2024. The last time the New York Fed’s recession probability indicator provided a false positive was October 1966.

While most stocks tend to be adversely impacted by recessions, Meta is particularly vulnerable since almost 98% of its net sales derive from advertising. Businesses aren’t shy about paring their marketing budgets at the first signs of trouble.

It’s also possible Dan Loeb was skeptical of Meta’s future stock performance given CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s plans to spend aggressively on AI-data center infrastructure. Despite Zuckerberg’s phenomenal track record of developing new products and monetizing them only when the time is right, he’s been consistently upping his company’s projected capital expenditures (capex). Meta’s capex forecast for 2025 slots in between $64 billion and $72 billion, which is up $5.5 billion at the midpoint from the company’s prior guidance.

Considering how pricey the stock market is as a whole, Wall Street and investors have little tolerance for mistakes. Meta Platforms spending billions on AI infrastructure above its prior forecast leaves the door open for disappointment.

While I don’t fault Dan Loeb for locking in his profits, I ultimately believe he’ll regret exiting this position when looking back years from now.

A toy rocket set atop messy stacks of coins and paperwork displaying financial data and charts.

Image source: Getty Images.

Third Point’s billionaire investor scooped up shares of a hypergrowth stock

Excluding options, Third Point’s 13F from the March-ended quarter shows billionaire Dan Loeb opened 10 new positions, none of which offers more intrigue than the face of the AI revolution, Nvidia (NVDA -2.42%).

During the first quarter, Loeb scooped up 1.45 million shares of Nvidia, which marks the first time his fund has held shares of this AI leader since the second quarter of 2023.

To state the obvious, the global potential for artificial intelligence as a technology is otherworldly. The ability for software and systems empowered with AI to make split-second decisions without human oversight is a game-changer for most industries around the world. Based on estimates from UN Trade and Development, the global AI market is projected to skyrocket from a reported $189 billion in 2023 to $4.8 trillion come 2033. That’s a 25X increase in a decade, for those of you keeping score at home.

Nvidia becoming Wall Street’s largest publicly traded company is a reflection of just how dominant its Hopper and Blackwell graphics processing units (GPUs) have been in AI-accelerated data centers. With demand for AI-GPUs significantly outweighing their supply, Nvidia has been able to not only sell more GPUs on a year-over-year basis, but also charge a 100%-plus premium to its direct external rivals. Not surprisingly, Nvidia’s gross margin soared as the AI revolution took shape.

Third Point’s billionaire investor might also be excited about Nvidia’s innovation timeline. CEO Jensen Huang expects to bring a new advanced AI chip to market annually. If all goes according to plan, Blackwell Ultra (2025), Vera Rubin (2026), and Vera Rubin Ultra (2027) will follow in the footsteps of Hopper and Blackwell. The key point here is that Nvidia’s compute advantages appear untouchable.

The other factor that’s kept Nvidia humming along is its premier CUDA software platform. This is what developers use to maximize the compute potential of their Nvidia GPUs, as well as to build and train large language models. CUDA is quietly doing a phenomenal job of keeping Nvidia’s clients loyal to its ecosystem of products and services.

But what, arguably, makes this buy intriguing is its timing. For more than three decades, every game-changing innovation has worked its way through an early stage bubble-bursting event. Though artificial intelligence shows plenty of promise, most businesses haven’t come anywhere close to optimizing their AI solutions as of yet. With signs pointing to AI being the next in a long line of bubbles, Nvidia stock could eventually crumble.

Loeb’s buy is also interesting in the sense that it comes as competition in the AI space is exploding. While most investors are paying close attention to direct external competition, the biggest threat to Nvidia likely comes from within. Many of its largest customers by net sales are internally developing AI-GPUs for their data centers. These chips, while inferior on a compute basis to Nvidia’s hardware, are notably cheaper and more readily accessible. They can minimize AI-GPU scarcity, reduce Nvidia’s pricing power and margins, and narrow its future opportunities in AI-accelerated data centers.

It wouldn’t be a surprise if this turned out to be nothing more than a quick trade for Third Point’s chief.

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Warren Buffett Sold Apple and Bank of America in Favor of This Boring Investment Offering a 4.3% Yield https://earlybirdsinvest.com/warren-buffett-sold-apple-and-bank-of-america-in-favor-of-this-boring-investment-offering-a-4-3-yield/ https://earlybirdsinvest.com/warren-buffett-sold-apple-and-bank-of-america-in-favor-of-this-boring-investment-offering-a-4-3-yield/#respond Sat, 19 Jul 2025 08:27:35 +0000 https://earlybirdsinvest.com/warren-buffett-sold-apple-and-bank-of-america-in-favor-of-this-boring-investment-offering-a-4-3-yield/ Buffett continues to favor this stable source of revenue for Berkshire Hathaway’s portfolio.

Warren Buffett’s tremendous success as an investor didn’t come from trying to time the market, nor from predicting which stocks would go up or down in the near term. Those are impossible tasks, he has noted on multiple occasions. Instead, the primary thing that Buffett and his team at Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A 0.29%) (BRK.B 0.10%) do is try to determine whether a business, at that particular moment, is worth more or less than its market price.

That strategy has led to some phenomenal results. Berkshire Hathaway stock has grown at a compound annual rate of about 20% since 1965, when Buffett took control of what was then a failing textile business. To put that in perspective, the S&P 500 (^GSPC -0.01%) has produced compound annual returns of just 10.4% over that time. 

As impressive as that may sound, it can be hard to grasp just how vast that difference becomes when compounding has decades to work its magic. From 1965 through 2024, an investment in the S&P 500 (with dividends reinvested) would have multiplied in value by about 390 times. The same investment in Berkshire would have risen by more than 55,000 times.

In short, buying stocks that are fundamentally worth more than the market thinks they are works. But in recent times, Buffett has concluded that many of the equities in Berkshire’s portfolio might not be worth as much as the market is paying for them. Further, he has found the pickings quite slim in terms of potential new equity holdings to buy. As a result, Berkshire Hathaway has been a net seller of stocks for 10 consecutive quarters. In that period, Buffett and his team have sold $174 billion more in stocks than they bought.

Two of the biggest positions recently getting trimmed at Berkshire Hathaway were Apple (AAPL 0.46%) and Bank of America (BAC 0.64%). The conglomerate cut its stakes in them by 67% and 39%, respectively. With some of the proceeds from those sales and others, Buffett has been piling into a high-yield investment that’s paying around 4.3% as of this writing.

Warren Buffett from the shoulders up.

Image source: The Motley Fool.

Cutting some of his biggest holdings

At one point, Apple stock accounted for more than half the value of Berkshire’s equity portfolio. Buffett first purchased shares of the iPhone maker in 2016 when it traded for around $25 on a split-adjusted basis. Over the next few years, he built a massive stake in the stock, pouring an estimated $36 billion into it by late 2018.

When Buffett made his initial investment in Apple, it was trading at a P/E multiple of around 10. That was an incredible value for the stock, even as the company was experiencing a downturn in net income. Buffett saw the value of the iPhone and the Apple ecosystem, noticing how attached people were to their smartphones. He expected the business to turn around, thanks to Apple’s brand strength, its leading position in smartphones, and its strong free cash flow. Sure enough, the stock soared over the next eight years.

But by late 2023, it had climbed to above 30 times earnings, which is an extremely high multiple for a company growing its earnings per share at a single-digit percentage annual rate. That was enough to convince Buffett to start taking some cash off the table. From October 2023 through September 2024, he sold more than two-thirds of Berkshire’s stake in the tech giant.

Apple remains the largest holding in Berkshire’s portfolio, accounting for nearly 22% of its value. But given its forward P/E of 29, it’s unlikely that Buffett plans to start adding to the position again in the near future, absent any significant developments.

Bank of America was Berkshire’s second-largest holding as of last summer. But over the last three quarters, Berkshire has trimmed its stake in the company by 39%. Bank of America remains Berkshire’s third-largest holding based on the company’s most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. But Buffett may have continued selling the stock in the second quarter.

Berkshire’s original stake in Bank of America came from stock warrants received in connection with preferred shares Buffett picked up in 2011 through a special deal he made while Bank of America was struggling. Those preferred shares paid nice dividends, but in 2017, it became more lucrative to own the common stock instead. So, Buffett exercised his warrants and converted the preferred shares into common stock, then proceeded to gradually add to the position through 2020.

Again, valuation seems to be the biggest reason for Buffett’s decision to book some profits on his Bank of America investment. The stock’s run-up in price has been fueled by expectations that interest rates will decline. Bank of America has longer-dated debt on its balance sheet that struggled when the Federal Reserve was hiking interest rates, but that will leave it well positioned relative to its peers when interest rates decline. But as the stock price climbed over the past couple of years, its price to tangible book value did too. That ratio has exceeded 1.6 for much of the past year. It currently trades closer to 1.7, well above its 10-year average of 1.49.

The investment paying Berkshire $13.5 billion per year

Those massive stock sales put a lot of cash in Berkshire Hathaway’s coffers. As mentioned, Buffett’s stock sales outpaced his purchases by $174 billion over the past two and a half years. While a sizeable chunk of that cash went toward paying Berkshire’s massive tax bill from last year, almost all of the rest went toward a single investment holding.

As of the end of the first quarter, Berkshire held $314.1 billion in U.S. Treasury bills on its balance sheet. With those bonds delivering an average yield of around 4.3%, the company is in line to collect $13.5 billion in 2025 just from interest on its government bond holdings. That number could climb higher if Buffett buys more T-bills throughout the year.

A $13.5 billion payout for doing nothing but supporting the U.S. government isn’t a bad deal. Berkshire’s total income from operations in 2024 was $47.5 billion. But Buffett has made it clear that he would rather invest Berkshire’s growing pile of cash (Treasury bills are considered a cash equivalent) in equities instead of bonds.

“Berkshire shareholders can rest assured that we will forever deploy a substantial majority of their money in equities,” Buffett wrote in his 2024 letter to shareholders.

The challenge Buffett currently faces is that most stocks on the market are expensive from a valuation standpoint. That’s especially true for stocks that he could buy in quantities large enough that they could actually move the needle for a giant like Berkshire Hathaway. With nearly $350 billion to deploy, Berkshire’s universe of investable stocks is limited to those with large market caps that can absorb billions of dollars of capital. Unfortunately, large-cap stocks trade at much higher valuations these days. Illustrating that trend, the S&P 500’s forward P/E ratio has climbed above 22 to one of its highest levels since the dot-com bubble, save for a few quarters in 2020 and 2021 (ahead of the 2022 bear market).

If Buffett were a smaller investor with just a few million dollars to invest, he’d surely be able to find great opportunities in the market. The small- and mid-cap indices trade for around 16 times expected forward earnings. Even the equal-weight S&P 500 index trades at just 17.6 times earnings, reflecting the fact that smaller members of the index are trading at more attractive values than its largest components.

Investors who take the time to research individual companies outside of the largest and most well-known names in the market can find some great companies worth more than their current market values. And if you consistently buy those stocks, you can generate excellent returns over the long run.

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$100,000,000 Stolen From Central Bank of Brazil in Single Night After Alleged Insider Sold Credentials to Hackers: Report https://earlybirdsinvest.com/100000000-stolen-from-central-bank-of-brazil-in-single-night-after-alleged-insider-sold-credentials-to-hackers-report/ https://earlybirdsinvest.com/100000000-stolen-from-central-bank-of-brazil-in-single-night-after-alleged-insider-sold-credentials-to-hackers-report/#respond Tue, 08 Jul 2025 07:19:50 +0000 https://earlybirdsinvest.com/100000000-stolen-from-central-bank-of-brazil-in-single-night-after-alleged-insider-sold-credentials-to-hackers-report/

Hackers reportedly stole $100 million from the Central Bank of Brazil using security credentials purchased from an alleged insider.

According to a new AP report, the cyberattack targeted Brazil’s popular instant payment system, known as PIX, to steal the massive nine-figure sum.

Hackers were able to pull off the scheme by infiltrating the C&M system, the software company that facilitates connections between financial institutions and the central bank to enable PIX payment transactions.

Police say the hackers used security credentials they allegedly purchased from C&M employee João Roque, who they just arrested. Roque allegedly told investigators he was recruited by the hackers last year and sold them his credentials. The AP was unable to reach Roque’s attorneys for comment.

After gaining access to the C&M system, the hackers initiated fake PIX operations, making off with $100 million in a single night from financial institutions that are plugged into the C&M network.

Police say they are attempting to identify the hackers and that at least four other people participated in the crime. Authorities are also attempting to freeze the suspected stolen assets, and say they have blocked about half the stolen funds connected to the scheme.

In a statement published by local media, C&M says that it is cooperating with authorities and that the breach was likely due to unauthorized access to security credentials, not system flaws.

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The price of Bitcoin sold by long-term holders is not under control, Checkmate says https://earlybirdsinvest.com/the-price-of-bitcoin-sold-by-long-term-holders-is-not-under-control-checkmate-says/ https://earlybirdsinvest.com/the-price-of-bitcoin-sold-by-long-term-holders-is-not-under-control-checkmate-says/#respond Mon, 30 Jun 2025 09:27:08 +0000 https://earlybirdsinvest.com/the-price-of-bitcoin-sold-by-long-term-holders-is-not-under-control-checkmate-says/

Bitcoin

Since its launch in May, it has merged over $100,000. The price fell below $100,000 on June 22nd. This was a weekend of growing tensions between Iran and the US

However, because Crypto is the only industry that is constantly traded due to low volumes usually over the weekend, price action often becomes less reliable during these periods.

In addition to the availability of exchange trade funds in the US, as well as the ongoing debate about public companies that are acquiring Bitcoin globally, investors wonder whether Bitcoin has yet to reach a new all-time high of over $112,000.

On-chain data, specifically the breakdown of supply that has revived, shows that supply collapse due to age is high in levels of Bitcoin sold by investors who have held coins for a minimum of three years, and sometimes more than a decade.

Analyst checkmate provided this data and commented, “Look at all this price suppression being sold by market manipulators who acquired coins over three years ago and have not sold for profit in bull markets… many papers.”

This means that every buyer has a seller, and the higher the price in bull markets, the more likely the market is that the seller is willing to offload its holdings.

Checkmate added, “Always cut sideways. Restraint == boring.” Bitcoin has been integrated for some time, so this is usually where the narrative of market suppression gains traction. However, the data show that sustained sales pressure continues rather than intentional restraint.

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Trumps May Have Sold Platform Stake as U.S. Stablecoins See Wave of Good News https://earlybirdsinvest.com/trumps-may-have-sold-platform-stake-as-u-s-stablecoins-see-wave-of-good-news/ https://earlybirdsinvest.com/trumps-may-have-sold-platform-stake-as-u-s-stablecoins-see-wave-of-good-news/#respond Sat, 21 Jun 2025 03:35:13 +0000 https://earlybirdsinvest.com/trumps-may-have-sold-platform-stake-as-u-s-stablecoins-see-wave-of-good-news/

Stablecoins are enjoying a moment in U.S. policy circles as the Senate just passed a regulation bill with major bipartisan numbers. As that moment approached, President Donald Trump and his family apparently offloaded about 20% of their stake in the parent company controlling World Liberty Financial, a crypto business that includes its own stablecoin.

DT Marks DEFI LLC is a company that now owns about 40% of the holding company over WLFI, down from an earlier 60%, according to the legal disclosures at the bottom of the platform’s website. DT Marks DEFI is “an entity affiliated with Donald J. Trump and certain of his family members,” it says.

Trump’s crypto dealings are extensive and have reportedly directly gained him tens of millions of dollars, at least, but they’ve also taken a starring role in the debate over digital assets regulation in the U.S. The stablecoin bill that is now in the hands of the House of Representatives was temporarily stalled in the Senate as Democrats made noise about Trump’s own stablecoin operation.

Despite corruption complaints from lawmakers such as Senators Elizabeth Warren, Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy, and arguments that it’s inappropriate for the president to be taking a hand in the regulation of his own business, the advancement of the bill potentially leaves World Liberty Financial’s USD1 stablecoin approaching steadier footing, assuming the company is prepared to comply with rigorous reserve and oversight demands.

While Trump’s political allies and his administration claim his business ties are transparent, the family’s crypto dealings remain murky, without full disclosures of the business stakes of individual members, including the president. It is still unclear what the family’s specific ownership or management involvement may be with World Liberty Financial.

Representatives from WLFI and Trump’s business interests didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment from CoinDesk.

And his growing ties to crypto don’t end there. Trump drew the bulk of recent criticism for his hosting of a private dinner for the leading investors in his personal memecoin, many of whom were foreign nationals and went unidentified to the public. The one-time crypto skeptic has sold multiple rounds of non-fungible tokens (NFTs); his media company announced this year it was raising $2.5 billion to build a bitcoin treasury; and son Eric has been helping run a new bitcoin mining venture. There are few corners of the industry the president doesn’t have close connections to.

Read More: Trump’s Empire Pulled In $57M From Family-Linked Crypto Firm Last Year, Filing Shows

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Billionaire Investor David Tepper Sold 56% of His Fund's Stake in Nvidia and Loaded Up on This Market-Beating Transportation Stock Instead https://earlybirdsinvest.com/billionaire-investor-david-tepper-sold-56-of-his-funds-stake-in-nvidia-and-loaded-up-on-this-market-beating-transportation-stock-instead/ https://earlybirdsinvest.com/billionaire-investor-david-tepper-sold-56-of-his-funds-stake-in-nvidia-and-loaded-up-on-this-market-beating-transportation-stock-instead/#respond Tue, 27 May 2025 10:28:57 +0000 https://earlybirdsinvest.com/billionaire-investor-david-tepper-sold-56-of-his-funds-stake-in-nvidia-and-loaded-up-on-this-market-beating-transportation-stock-instead/

Many sports fans may know David Tepper as the owner of the NFL’s Carolina Panthers. But in the investing world, Tepper is considered a legend. Between 1993 and 2019, Tepper’s fund, Appaloosa Management, generated compound annual returns of more than 25% per year, net of all fees, according to Institutional Investor. Today, Tepper still runs Appaloosa but as a family office, and he’s still arguably one of the most influential investors in the market. In the first quarter of 2025, filings show that Appaloosa more than halved its position in the artificial intelligence (AI) chip giant Nvidia (NVDA -1.02%), while loading up on a market-beating transportation stock instead.

Reading the tea leaves on Nvidia

Like many stocks in 2025, Nvidia has had an up-and-down year. It sold off intensely but then rebounded and is currently down only 2% for the year. Earlier in 2025, there were many concerning events that could have caused investors to press the sell button.

A person working on a laptop.

Image source: Getty Images.

The first occurred after China’s DeepSeek created an artificial intelligence chatbot rivaling OpenAI’s ChatGPT, supposedly at a fraction of the cost and with older Nvidia chips. Now, there’s much dispute about the level of resources that went into DeepSeek but it caused investors to worry about demand for Nvidia’s chips and whether or not more in the AI world could be done with less.

Then there were concerns about export restrictions and how that might impact Nvidia’s business in China. Former President Joe Biden’s administration began to limit the types of chips Nvidia could sell to China, in an effort to prevent China from obtaining semiconductors it could use to build a super computer. Those restrictions ramped up and the Biden administration also tried to close loopholes by preventing Nvidia from selling certain chips to other countries that could then sell them to China. The Trump administration plans to remove some of the Biden-era policies but also implemented its own restrictions that caused Nvidia to take a $5.5 billion charge in the first quarter of the year.

While there is still broader market uncertainty, particularly as U.S. Treasury yields surged, investors seem to have renewed faith in AI demand and Nvidia currently trades at a cheaper forward earnings multiple than earlier this year, so it’s not a bad time for long-term oriented buyers to buy shares or start dollar-cost averaging again.

NVDA PE Ratio (Forward) Chart

NVDA PE Ratio (Forward) data by YCharts

A ride-sharing company with autonomous potential

While selling Nvidia, Tepper and Appaloosa more than doubled their position in the ride-sharing company Uber Technologies (UBER -0.16%). Uber was one of the most highly touted start-ups, but struggled to turn a profit for many years. In 2017, the company brought on Dara Khosrowshahi, who has focused less on growth and more on improving operations.

Through a mixture of cost-cutting, price increases, exiting difficult markets like China, and a focus on growing profitable businesses like Uber Eats, Uber managed to turn its first profit in 2023. Since then, profits and revenue continued to grow and the company has also been increasing free cash flow. The stock has crushed the broader market this year and over the last five years.

UBER Chart

UBER data by YCharts

Uber also has an opportunity to be a part of the autonomous vehicle wave. While the company will not build its own self-driving vehicles, it does plan to partner with companies in the autonomous space to help them reach commercialization and integrate autonomous vehicles into Uber’s fleet. In a presentation made in the fourth quarter of 2024, management presented the autonomous space as more than a $1 trillion opportunity.

The company said that the path to commercialization for companies developing self-driving vehicles faces several obstacles. These include navigating the regulatory landscape, ensuring safety, and having a scalable network and platform. Uber can help on all of these fronts and has already partnered with several large autonomous companies like Waymo and WeRide. Earlier this month, Uber and WeRide announce an expansion of their partnership to roll out autonomous vehicles in 15 cities across the world.

Trading at less than 25 times forward earnings, Uber has the opportunity to continue improving profitability and free cash flow, while also potentially tapping into the massive autonomous market over time, presenting a potential new stream of revenue.

Bram Berkowitz has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Nvidia and Uber Technologies. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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