SoFi (NASDAQ:SOFI) is in the spotlight after Philippe Laffont’s Coatue Management disclosed a new stake in the company through a Q2 13F filing. Founded in 1999 by Laffont, the hedge fund manages more than $8.2 billion in 13F securities today. Furthermore, Laffont is known for his bets on high-growth technology companies and is a member of the Tiger Cubs, or students of Julian Robertson. Coatue operates as a medium- to long-term investor and holds stocks in its portfolio for an average of 6.53 quarters.
Shares of SOFI stock are down more than 50% year-to-date and have been battered by rising interest rates and inflation. However, CEO Anthony Noto remains confident, explaining, “The depth and breadth of our portfolio allows us to allocate resources toward the best growth opportunities across our diverse offerings, which has enabled us to exceed our performance targets despite continued headwinds in certain businesses.”
Let’s get into the details of the Coatue purchase.
SOFI Stock: Coatue Discloses New Position
Coatue purchased 14.52 million shares of SOFI during the second quarter. After the purchase, the fintech company is now the hedge fund’s 27th largest holding with a portfolio allocation of 0.93%. Coatue owns 81 positions in total and has a top 10 holdings concentration of 56.86%.
Coatue’s stake echoes Noto’s conviction. Year-t0-date, the CEO has purchased SOFI on 18 separate occasions. His last purchased occurred on June 16 when he purchased 53,540 shares for an average price of $5.58.
On the other hand, SoftBank (OTCMKTS:SFTBY) has been selling its shares. The multinational conglomerate sold 31.62 million shares this month, although the reason is not a lack of faith in the company. CEO Masayoshi Son stated that his company is taking a defensive stance on its investments after it lost a record $23.4 billion during Q2. After the sales, SoftBank remains the largest shareholder of SoFi, with a 63.65 million share stake.
Who Else Is Betting Big on SoFi?
With the Aug. 15 13F filing deadline past us, investors can now take a look at what institutions own as of June 30. During Q2, 436 funds reported owning SOFI, an increase of six funds from the prior quarter. However, the institutional put/call ratio sits at a sky-high 1.79, up from 1.31 during Q1. This means that more funds own put options against the company than call options by a wide margin. With that in mind, let’s take a look at the top five shareholders:
- SoftBank: 63.65 million shares.
- Vanguard: 61.96 million shares.
- Red Crow Capital: 42.64 million shares. Red Crow’s stake is accurate as of Nov. of 2021.
- Silver Lake: 31.15 million shares.
- BlackRock (NYSE:BLK): 30.85 million shares.
On the date of publication, Eddie Pan did not hold (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
