Latest news with #DEShaw
Bloomberg
08-08-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
DE Shaw Hedge Fund Doubled Returns to Nearly 10% on Winning Week
One of the main hedge funds of investment giant D.E. Shaw & Co. turned a mediocre July into a winning month in a matter days. Oculus, the firm's second-biggest hedge fund that mostly makes macro wagers, soared 4.6% during the final week of July, turning a down month into gains of 4.4%, according to an investor document seen by Bloomberg. The performance also doubled the fund's returns for the year to 9.6%, the document shows.
Yahoo
07-08-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Preemptive shutdown of major US facility sparks outrage: 'It won't be much longer before more companies follow'
Preemptive shutdown of major US facility sparks outrage: 'It won't be much longer before more companies follow' A major solar manufacturer has shut down its U.S. facility before production fully took off — a move that has sparked backlash and renewed concern over the country's ability to support clean energy jobs. What's happening? As Electrek detailed, Swiss solar company Meyer Burger closed its Arizona factory in May and laid off 282 employees after stating it couldn't secure the funding necessary to continue operating. The Goodyear facility was supposed to produce 1.4 gigawatts of solar panels annually — enough to power hundreds of thousands of homes — but the company never reached full production. Meyer Burger blamed a severe lack of funds, worsened by a canceled 5-gigawatt supply agreement with cleaner energy investor D.E. Shaw, and fierce competition from Chinese imports. On June 27 — just weeks after the shutdown — Meyer Burger's U.S. branch filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, following insolvency proceedings for its parent company in Germany. Reactions have been intense — and not just from workers. One commenter on Electrek summed up a growing concern: "It won't be much longer before more companies follow. Future investment in the U.S. by foreign companies? Notta." Why is this facility shutdown concerning? This shutdown is a blow not just to workers in Arizona but to a broader push for clean energy in the U.S. The Goodyear factory was part of an effort to shift solar production away from heavily subsidized Chinese supply chains and create sustainable American jobs in the process. However, a lack of clear, timely support left Meyer Burger stranded — and it highlights a deeper issue facing the U.S. clean energy sector. Following the passing of the Big Beautiful Bill, many clean energy incentives from the Inflation Reduction Act are set to be phased out. The removal of these benefits could have a disastrous impact on green-energy companies. When clean energy projects like this fall through, the ripple effects extend beyond job losses. Delays in scaling up domestic solar production slow the country's ability to cut climate pollution. That means we remain reliant on dirty fuels longer, and the window to meet emissions targets gets narrower. Should the government provide incentives to buy EVs? Absolutely Depends on the incentives Depends on if it's federal or states Absolutely not Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. What's being done about it? Lawmakers and industry leaders need clearer guidance about the availability of clean energy tax credits and what they can do after they are removed. Meanwhile, manufacturers must urge federal agencies to prioritize funding for solar producers that are competing with cheaper overseas imports. As individuals, we can support solar by choosing clean power providers, voting for leaders who prioritize renewable energy, and staying informed about corporate accountability. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet. Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
01-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Billionaires Sell Tesla Stock and Buy Another AI Stock Up 327% in 3 Years
Two of Wall Street's most successful hedge funds sold Tesla and bought Cloudflare in the first quarter. Tesla is losing market share in electric cars but recently launched its first robotaxi service. Cloudflare is the fourth most popular cloud platform among developers, but the stock is very expensive. These 10 stocks could mint the next wave of millionaires › In the first quarter, two successful hedge funds led by Wall Street billionaires sold Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) and bought Cloudflare (NYSE: NET), as detailed below: David Shaw's hedge fund D.E. Shaw & Co. sold 1.3 million shares of Tesla, cutting its stake 43%. Tesla had been one of the five largest positions in the portfolio but no longer ranks among the top 20. The hedge fund also started a new position by purchasing 5,400 shares of Cloudflare. Israel Englander's Millennium Management sold 855,100 shares of Tesla, cutting its stake 43%. Tesla had been one of the 10 largest positions in the portfolio, excluding options, but it no longer ranks in the top 20. The hedge fund also purchased 218,500 shares of Cloudflare, increasing its stake 186%. Investors should know a few things about those trades. First, D.E. Shaw and Millennium are two of the three most profitable hedge funds of all time in terms of net gains, according to LCH Investments. That makes them good sources of inspiration for individual investors. Second, Tesla stock returned just 31% in the last three years, underperforming the S&P 500 by 23 percentage points. But Cloudflare stock rocketed 327% during that period, beating the benchmark index by 265 percentage points. Read on to learn more. Tesla is no longer the market leader in battery electric vehicles (BEVs). In fact, the company doesn't even rank second anymore. Chinese automakers BYD and Geely Automobile have stolen the top spots as Tesla has struggled with demand. Its first-quarter revenue dropped 9% to $19.3 billion and non-GAAP net income fell 40% to $0.27 per diluted share as deliveries dropped 13%. Management blamed factory updates that temporarily limited Model Y production for the drop in first-quarter deliveries, but the refresh is complete and the company is still losing market share. In May, Tesla sales fell 11% in the U.S., 28% in Europe, and 15% in China. An aging lineup of relatively expensive cars is the most probable cause, but CEO Elon Musk has likely damaged the brand by involving himself in politics. There is some good news for shareholders. In June, Tesla started offering autonomous rides in Austin, Texas. Only about 20 robotaxis currently roam the streets, and rides are restricted to invitees. But Musk told CNBC he expects "hundreds of thousands" of robotaxis on the road by the end of 2026. The company will crowdsource vehicles by allowing owners to add (or subtract) their Teslas from the robotaxi pool. Tesla has a ways to go before it catches Alphabet's Waymo, which already offers robotaxi services in five U.S. cities, but its strategy theoretically affords it an advantage. Specifically, Waymos are equipped with an array of cameras, lidar, and radar, but Teslas rely solely on cameras to navigate autonomously, which is less costly and more scalable. Indeed, Musk says Tesla could eventually capture "99% market share or something ridiculous." However, while robotaxi services could be a massive opportunity in the long term, Tesla stock is priced for perfection today. Wall Street expects the company's adjusted earnings to increase at 14% annually through 2026. That makes the current valuation of 145 times earnings look very expensive. I think investors with conviction in the autonomous driving story should keep holding the stock but must be prepared for volatility. Cloudflare is a connectivity cloud that offers application, network, and security services that speed up and protect critical business infrastructure. It has two key advantages: It operates the fastest cloud network on the planet and handles about 20% of all web traffic, which provides deep insight into performance issues and security threats across the internet. The company is a leader in several markets. International Data Corp. (IDC) has ranked the company a leader in content delivery network software. Forrester Research has recognized its leadership web application firewalls. GigaOm has ranked Cloudflare as a leader in edge development platforms. More broadly, it's the fourth-most-popular cloud platform among professional developers, according to the 2024 Stack Overflow survey. Cloudflare reported decent financial results in the first quarter. Customers increased 27% to 250,819, the fourth straight acceleration, and the average existing customer spent 11% more. Revenue increased 27% to $479 million, but non-GAAP net income was flat at $0.16 per diluted share as gross margin fell and the number of outstanding shares rose. Cloudflare is well-positioned to benefit as demand for artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure increases, particularly because its platform is very fast. The company is leaning into that opportunity with Workers AI, a service that lets clients build and deploy AI applications on its ultra-fast network. The number of Workers AI inference requests jumped 4,000% in the past year. Wall Street estimates Cloudflare's earnings will increase at 21% annually through 2026. That makes the present valuation of 258 times earnings look very expensive. Admittedly, the company beat the consensus earnings estimate by an average of 13% during the last four quarters, but the stock would still be very expensive, even if that pattern continues. As with Tesla, shareholders comfortable with volatility should continue holding the stock. But if the idea of a substantial decline makes you nervous, consider trimming your position. Ever feel like you missed the boat in buying the most successful stocks? Then you'll want to hear this. On rare occasions, our expert team of analysts issues a 'Double Down' stock recommendation for companies that they think are about to pop. If you're worried you've already missed your chance to invest, now is the best time to buy before it's too late. And the numbers speak for themselves: Nvidia: if you invested $1,000 when we doubled down in 2009, you'd have $409,114!* Apple: if you invested $1,000 when we doubled down in 2008, you'd have $38,173!* Netflix: if you invested $1,000 when we doubled down in 2004, you'd have $713,547!* Right now, we're issuing 'Double Down' alerts for three incredible companies, available when you join , and there may not be another chance like this anytime soon.*Stock Advisor returns as of June 30, 2025 Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Trevor Jennewine has positions in Tesla. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Cloudflare, and Tesla. The Motley Fool recommends BYD Company. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Billionaires Sell Tesla Stock and Buy Another AI Stock Up 327% in 3 Years was originally published by The Motley Fool Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
CoStar's Hedge Fund Investors Signal Urge 'Meaningful Self-Help' To Get Homes.com Back On Course
Benzinga and Yahoo Finance LLC may earn commission or revenue on some items through the links below. Costar's (NASDAQ:CSGP) residential real estate listing site, embarked on a billion-dollar spending spree in 2024 to try to take the mantle from established marketplace leaders like Zillow (NASDAQ:Z) and However, earlier this year, the first signs of trouble emerged amid news of layoffs. Now, just over a year since the site began earning revenue, two of its hedge fund investors, D.E. Shaw & Co. and Third Point Investors Ltd., have signaled for change. Don't Miss: Hasbro, MGM, and Skechers trust this AI marketing firm — Inspired by Uber and Airbnb – Deloitte's fastest-growing software company is transforming 7 billion smartphones into income-generating assets – 'Despite the continued strength of its core business, we believe recent capital allocation decisions have derailed CoStar's compounding algorithm,' a recent investor letter from Third Point said. 'Over the past five years, management has increasingly focused on leveraging CoStar's dominance in commercial real estate to expand into residential real estate.' After spending over $1 billion per year with an estimated $3 billion to be spent by the end of 2025, Third Point says so far there is little to show in the way of return. 'This investment has yet to generate meaningful revenue,' the letter states. 'Expanding losses at have obscured rapid growth in the core business and reduced consolidated EBITDA by approximately 80%.' Third Star lays bare the financial realities for the listings site following an extravagant launch, saying that after two decades of compounding at an internal rate of return of roughly 25%, CoStar's stock has remained flat in the last five years. Trending: Maker of the $60,000 foldable home has 3 factory buildings, 600+ houses built, and big plans to solve housing — 'After several years of uncertainty, we believe it is time for CoStar to begin the journey of meaningful self-help,' the letter states. The self-help plan includes a board shake-up and a capital allocation committee. The committee will include Costar CEO Andy Florence. The team will be tasked with overseeing the investment and profitability timeline. In February, made headlines when it announced 100 layoffs from its headquarters in Richmond, Virginia, blaming AI for some of the cuts. 'The company expects to eliminate roles in 2025 from efficiencies gained by using AI and reallocate those resources into other areas,' CoStar said in statement. 'CoStar Group sees rapidly growing value in leveraging artificial intelligence to improve content creation, drive operational efficiencies, and build the next generation of digital real estate user interfaces.'In July, CoStar Group was forced to discontinue some of its TV ads after two Fast-Track SWIFT challenges were brought by Move Inc., and BBB National Programs' National Advertising. Move Inc. operates Move, a direct rival to is owned by News Corp (NASDAQ:NWS, NWSA)). In the BBB National Programs National Advertising complaint, Move disputed two claims that CoStar had made in its advertising: ' just reached 156M monthly unique visitors.' ' now has DOUBLE traffic.' Currently, there is a dispute about page views. The CoStar claimed to average 104 million monthly unique visitors in Q1 2025, placing it ahead of Redfin (NASDAQ:RDFN) and However, analytical software company SEMRUSH puts behind Zillow, and Redfin (NASDAQ:RDFN). Read Next: , which provides access to a pool of short-term loans backed by residential real estate with just a $100 minimum. 'Scrolling To UBI' — Deloitte's #1 fastest-growing software company allows users to earn money on their phones. Image: Shutterstock Send To MSN: 0 This article CoStar's Hedge Fund Investors Signal Urge 'Meaningful Self-Help' To Get Back On Course originally appeared on
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Moderna, Inc. (MRNA): Among Billionaire David E. Shaw's Small-Cap Stock Picks with Huge Upside Potential
We recently published a list of . In this article, we are going to take a look at where Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA) stands against billionaire David E. Shaw's other small-cap stock picks with huge upside potential. David E. Shaw is one billionaire investor whose record speaks for itself on Wall Street. Having founded D.E. Shaw & Co., L.P. in 1988 with $28 million in capital, the fund has grown to become one of the most successful and biggest, with a 13F portfolio worth $136.27 billion. Amid the growth, Shaw's hedge fund D E Shaw has also returned significant returns to shareholders. The fund's flagship Composite fund has achieved an annualized net return of 12.7% since inception in 2001, as the Oculus Fund has averaged 13.7% annually since 2004 and has never had a negative year. Shaw's hedge fund was one of the earliest to leverage complex trading algorithms, followed by some form of human-run investing. Consequently, the multi-strategy fund remains the rage on Wall Street, given its solid returns over the years and the growing trend of returning gains to investors. READ ALSO: Billionaire Paul Tudor Jones' 10 Stocks Picks with Huge Upside Potential and Billionaire Quants' Two Sigma's 10 Stock Picks with Huge Upside Potential. Composite hedge fund gained 18% in 2024, with Oculus outperforming the overall market, soaring 36% and recording its best gain since inception. The better-than-expected returns come on Shaw and the other fund managers deploying systematic and computer-driven trading strategies to identify stocks trading at discounted valuations before they explode. Following the impressive performance in 2024, reports emerged that the hedge fund was planning to return billions of dollars to external clients, as has been the trend. Amid the impressive performance last year, D.E. Shaw & Co. finds itself at a crossroads as the overall stock market has turned bearish. Major US indices have pulled back by about 6% from record highs amid recession concerns and deteriorating macroeconomics attributed to the US trade war. The US Federal Reserve holding interest rates unchanged, waiting to see the impact of President Donald Trump's trade policy, continues to rattle sentiments in the equity market. The Federal Reserve held its benchmark rate unchanged at between 4.25% and 4.5%, much to the anguish of Trump. In its statement, the Fed noted the uncertainty around the economic outlook. 'Uncertainty about the economic outlook has increased further,' the statement said. 'The Committee is attentive to the risks to both sides of its dual mandate and judges that the risks of higher unemployment and higher inflation have raised.' Acknowledging that tariffs could worsen inflation and hinder economic expansion, the statement introduces the likelihood of a stagflation scenario, a phenomenon that has been largely missing from the US economy since the early 1980s. Decision-makers have mostly concurred that the central bank is currently well-placed, as the economy is performing reasonably well at this time, to exercise patience while fine-tuning monetary policy. Amid the economic uncertainty, focus in the equity markets is slowly shifting towards small-cap stocks with significant upside potential. That's partly because large-cap stocks are under pressure after skyrocketing to record highs, resulting in valuations above historical norms. Billionaire David E. Shaw's portfolio boasts of solid small-cap stocks with tremendous upside potential. We combed D. E. Shaw's SEC Q4 2024 13F filings to identify Billionaire David E. Shaw's 10 Small-Cap Stock Picks with Huge Upside Potential. We then settled on stocks with less than $10 billion in market cap and analyzed why the stocks stand out, as solid investments well poised to generate significant long-term value. Finally, we ranked the stocks in ascending order based on the stocks upside potential. Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter's strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points (). A scientist surrounded by vials and beakers in a modern laboratory, proudly displaying a vaccine. Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA) is a biotechnology company that provides messenger RNA medicines. The company's respiratory vaccines include Spikevax, mRESVIA, COVID-19, RSV, seasonal influenza, combination, and pandemic influenza. It's also known for treatment across infectious diseases, oncology, and rare diseases. Shares of the Massachusetts company have declined significantly over the past year, attributed to the company facing setbacks on its pipeline. The US Federal Drug Administration is requesting Phase 3 flu efficacy data for its COVID-19 and FLU combo vaccine. Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA) won't be able to release the mRNA vaccine as expected in 2025. Nevertheless, a recent study has shown that combining the company's flu and COVID-19 vaccine using messenger RNA generated antibodies and a stronger immune response. The combo shot can improve vaccination rates, which would be a significant boon for the company. In addition, Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA) is angling for the approval of the mRNA technology that is currently only used in approved COVID-19 and RSV shots. Approval of the technology should end up speeding up the production of flu shots compared to traditional shots. The push comes as UBS maintains a Buy rating of the stock, even after cutting the price target to $70 from $78. Overall, MRNA ranks 1st on our list of billionaire David E. Shaw's small-cap stock picks with huge upside potential. While we acknowledge the potential of MRNA as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. There is an AI stock that went up since the beginning of 2025, while popular AI stocks lost around 25%. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than MRNA but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings check out our report about this cheapest AI stock. READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stocks To Buy Now and 30 Best Stocks to Buy Now According to Billionaires. Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
