Dan Loeb's Third Point Trims Amazon, Microsoft, Meta As Tech Stocks Climb

Activist investor Dan Loeb‘s Third Point LLC adjusted its portfolio in the third quarter of 2024, trimming stakes in several major companies, including technology and utility stocks.

PCG: Third Point reduced shares in one of the leading natural gas and electric energy companies, Pacific Gas & Electric Co. PCG, to 49.7 million in the third quarter of FY24 from 56.9 million shares in the third quarter of FY23.

Although the investor gradually lowered shares in the company throughout the period, the stock is still the fund's largest holding as of Sept. 30, 2024.

The stock declined 4.4% in the last year, underperforming the Vanguard Utilities Index Fund ETF VPU, which has gained 29.2% over the same time frame.

Importantly, the company reported a third-quarter adjusted EPS of 37 cents, exceeding analysts' expectations of 33 cents, but revenue of $5.94 billion, falling short of the consensus estimate of $6.61 billion.

The company will report fourth-quarter results on Feb. 13, 2025.

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AMZN: Apart from this, the investor cut shares in technology giant Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN to 3.7 million in the third quarter of FY24 from 4.9 million in the third quarter of FY23.

Notably, Third Point increased its AMZN shares in the first quarter of 2024 but lowered the number in the third quarter of 2024.

Amazon’s share escalated 40.51% in the last year, outperforming the Fidelity MSCI Consumer Discretionary Index ETF FDIS, which has surged 29.81% over the same time frame.

Notably, Amazon reported the company posted mixed second-quarter FY24 results and gave soft third-quarter guidance in August 2024.

On Aug. 5, 2024 the company’s shares dropped to a six-month low of $151.61 in intraday trading, breaching the 21-day, 50-day, and 200-day moving averages.

MSFT: Moreover, Third Point significantly curtailed shares in software giant Microsoft Corporation MSFT to 870,000 shares in third-quarter FY24 from 2.2 million in third-quarter FY23.

The stock gained 2.4% over the past year, lagging the iShares U.S. Technology ETF IYW, which rose 22.9% in the same period.

META: The investor slashed shares by half in Meta Platforms, Inc. META to 545,000 shares in third-quarter FY24 from 1.1 million in the second quarter of 2024.

The company’s share jumped 51.6% in the last year, outperforming the iShares Global Comm Services ETF IXP, which upped 28.8% over the same time frame.

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