Ray Dalio may not get as much attention as some other hedge fund managers like Cathie Wood, Jim Simons and Steven Cohen. Yet, he’s earned his place among the world’s top fund managers. Dalio’s Bridgewater Associates manages more than $150 billion in capital. So, investors should be paying attention to the stocks that Ray Dalio is betting on now.
Dalio started Bridgewater in 1975. Over the decades, he turned it into a financial juggernaut, returning $52.2 billion in gains to its investors, the most of any hedge fund in history, according to LCH Investments.
Like all big funds, investors closely watch the Form 13F that Bridgewater files with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Form 13F gives investors a quarterly update on what these funds are buying and selling.
But there’s a catch. The funds have 45 calendar days after the quarter ends to file their 13F. So, investors are getting a pretty dated look at what these funds are doing. Still, there is insight to be gained into what some of the greatest investors in the world are thinking.
In Bridgewater’s most recent Form 13 F, for the quarter ended June 30, we can see that Dalio was a big seller of Chinese tech holdings including Alibaba (NYSE:BABA), JD.com (NASDAQ:JD) and NetEase (NASDAQ:NTES).
Further, he was a big buyer of the S&P 500 via the iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (NYSEARCA:IVV). Bridgewater increased its stake by 51% over Q1 to nearly $644 million. One could assume this means Dalio is bullish on the performance of large-cap U.S. equities.
More specifically, though, let’s look at three individual stocks that Ray Dalio is betting on now.
| META | Meta Platforms | $163.05 |
| NFLX | Netflix | $226.54 |
| CVS | CVS Health | $102.37 |
Meta Platforms (META)
Dalio may have been a big seller of Chinese technology companies in the second quarter, but he put money to work in the beaten-down U.S. tech sector. Specifically, he was focused on some of the underperforming FAANG holdings like Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META).
Dalio upped his stake in META from around 10,900 shares in the first quarter to more than 586,600 shares in the second quarter. At current prices, that stake would be worth close to $100 million.
META stock is down 52% so far in 2022 and suffered a peak-to-trough decline of 60% from its all-time high made a little less than a year ago. There are concerns about the company’s future growth, with its loss of users, particularly young ones, and its push into the metaverse.
However, it’s hard to deny that Meta is a cash cow, as it sports the best gross margins in the entire FAANG group. And Dalio’s decision to increase his stake by more than 5,000% in Q2 may be a sign of brighter days to come for Meta.
Netflix (NFLX)
Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) has been the worst-performing FAANG holding this year. The stock suffered a total decline of 77% from its November high to its May low. Even after a roughly 40% rally off their low, shares are down 62% on the year.
It’s been a harrowing ride for investors, spurred by falling subscriber numbers while competitors like Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) continue to grow their streaming customers. There may be a silver lining, though: Netflix could become a value stock.
Shares trade at just 22.5 times this year’s earnings estimates— yes, earnings! At its lows, Netflix traded at roughly 16 times earnings. That seems pretty cheap for the world’s dominant streaming platform.
Dalio seemed to think so. In the most recent quarter, he increased his position from 4,025 shares to almost 125,000 shares, or by roughly 3,000%. At today’s prices, a stake that size is worth around $28 million.
CVS Health (CVS)
In addition to buying the dip in tech, Dalio made a notable increase in one of his larger positions, CVS Health (NYSE:CVS).
Bridgewater went from 1.21 million shares of CVS in the first quarter to almost 3.15 million shares at the end of the second quarter. That’s a 160% increase. At today’s prices, assuming Bridgewater has not increased or decreased its position, it would be worth roughly $322 million.
CVS has performed much better than the other names on this list. The stock suffered a peak-to-trough loss of just 26.5%, in line with the S&P 500. It currently sits just 8% below its all-time high.
In conclusion, Dalio continues to commit to some core holdings but is buying the dip in areas where he sees value too. Investors would be wise to pay attention.
On the date of publication, Bret Kenwell did not have (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.