Here’s something interesting. 13-F filings suggest that hedge funds have become extremely divided over America’s largest carmaker, General Motors.
Managers in the buy camp include David Einhorn and Leon Cooperman, both of whom have boosted their GM holdings by at least 50% during the second quarter. Einhorn’s Greenlight Capital currently owns 14.6 million shares in the automaker, while Cooperman’s Omega Advisors holds 3.6 million.
David Tepper is also a member of the group, or perhaps leader would be more fitting. Tepper’s Appaloosa Management boosted its investment in GM by 22% in the second quarter, taking its stake to a whopping 18.8 million shares of the company – good enough, as Benzinga reports, for it to break into the top 15 institutional investors list.
Meanwhile, those who have been or are currently fading from the trade include hedge fund luminaries such as George Soros, Paul Tudor Jones, and Stevie Cohen.
Soros reportedly sold over 4.5 million shares of GM, while Cohen slashed his stake by nearly 85%. Glenn Dubin, Michael Platt, and Izzy Englander also count themselves among the sell camp.
GM has been plagued by ignition switch problems its vehicles have had since 2014. Over 120 deaths and 270 injuries were tied to those problems, costing the carmaker nearly $1.3 billion in recalls plus another $625 million set aside for the victims. On the bright side, it did post strong earnings for the second quarter this year, racking up $1.12 billion compared to the $190 million it posted last year.
Photo: jm3 on Flickr