Billionaire Investor Trims Alibaba After Saying Buy 'Everything'

(Bloomberg) — Turns out that Billionaire investor David Tepper, who said recently he would buy “everything” China-related amid Beijing’s stimulus blitz, trimmed exposure in e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. in the third quarter.

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Tepper’s Appaloosa Management cut its Alibaba stake by 5% in the three months through September, according to a 13F filing released on Thursday. Alibaba, however, remains the hedge fund’s largest holding, accounting for 16% of its $6.7 billion equity portfolio.

Tepper also trimmed exposure in the iShares China Large-Cap exchange-traded fund, the KraneShares CSI China Internet ETF and Baidu Inc. At the same time though, Tepper more than doubled its stake in PDD Holdings, and increased positions in JD.com Inc. and KE Holdings Inc., the filing showed.

That stands in contrast to what Tepper said during a CNBC interview in September, when China’s top officials ramped up efforts to revive growth, fueling a rally in the nation’s stock market.

“Everything. ETFs, I would do futures — everything. Everything,” Tepper said during the interview with the network in September, when asked about which Chinese stocks he is buying on the policy shift.

Overall though, Tepper’s exposure in Chinese stocks and ETFs increased in the third quarter, to 38% of his equity portfolio from 26% in the three months through June.

An email sent to Tepper seeking comment outside business hours wasn’t immediately answered.

China’s top officials ramped up efforts to revive growth in September with pledges to support fiscal spending and stabilize the beleaguered property sector. The move triggered a frantic rally that sent the CSI 300 Index 30% higher and the Nasdaq Golden Dragon Index of US-listed China up 40% in a matter of weeks.

Read: David Tepper Buys ‘Everything’ China-Related on Beijing Easing

Tepper, along with Scion Asset Management’s Michael Burry, has been one of the few prominent China equity bulls among hedge fund investors. In the second quarter, Tepper largely held on to his Chinese companies that he’d scooped up earlier in the year, even as he trimmed exposure in Alibaba.

Burry, the hedge fund manager famous for his 2008 bet against the US housing market, further increased his stake in Chinese companies including Alibaba in the third quarter — while simultaneously adding new bearish options that would provide downside protection.

Read: Michael Burry Boosts China Stakes But With Cautious Hedges

The rally in Chinese stocks showed signs of stalling in recent weeks as Beijing’s latest fiscal policies stopped short of expectations. Some investors are cautious about the group’s long-term outlook given the sluggish consumer spending and property-market weakness. What’s more, Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential election sparked uncertainty about higher tariffs and further geopolitical tensions.

–With assistance from Ye Xie.