A major fund manager made significant improvements to its equity investments in the United States.
DNB Asset Management increased its holdings in Apple (AAPL) and Tesla (TSLA) in the first quarter, reduced its holdings in Alibaba Group Holding (BABA) American depositary receipts, and sold all of XPeng’s ADRs (XPEV).
The trades were revealed, among other things, in a form filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission by DNB Asset Management.
DNB Asset Management, the largest financial services company in Norway, did not respond to comment.
Moreover, DNB Asset Management is in control of over $70 billion in assets.
The asset manager bought 276,351 more Apple shares in the first quarter to end March with 3.4 million shares of the iPhone maker.
Apple stock slumped 8% in the first quarter while the S&P 500 index rose 5.8%. Since then, through Friday’s close, Apple stock has soared 7.6% while the index has risen 5.2%.
Apple Report: Earnings Surprassed Expectations
Last week, Apple released its fiscal second-quarter update, which was full of good news. Earnings surpassed expectations, and the company increased its dividend and stock repurchases. For the quarter ending March 27, revenue set a new high for a non-holiday season.
DNB Asset Management purchased 20,000 more Tesla shares in the first quarter, bringing its total to 120,822 shares.
Tesla’s stock fell 5.3 percent in the first quarter, but has since risen 6.2 percent.
Tesla’s first-quarter report was largely positive last week, but shares fell afterward due to investor concerns. The operating profit was lower than anticipated, but profits from Bitcoin trading helped to boost the bottom line. As of late, Tesla’s public reputation has been tarnished.
Alibaba ADRs slid 2.6% in the first quarter, but have risen 1.9% since.
Legendary investor Charlie Munger recently made a bullish case for Alibaba ADRs in the face of low returns from Treasury bills. Some analysts see a recent fine from Chinese regulators is a positive for the online giant. The ruling seemed to offer closure for Alibaba investors after a turbulent few months.
DNB Asset Management sold 189,475 Alibaba ADRs to end March with 122,258 ADRs.
The firm ended the first quarter with no XPeng ADRs, having sold all 33,156 ADRs it had owned at the end of 2020.
XPeng ADRs slid 14.8% in the first quarter, and have lost 18.1% since the end of March.
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