Apple went from the hottest hedge fund stock to the coldest in just 3 months

Hedge funds unloaded about $7 billion worth of Apple stock in the first quarter.

Apple went from the hottest hedge fund stock to the coldest in just 3 months·Yahoo Finance

Hedge funds unloaded more than $7 billion worth of Apple (AAPL) stock during the first quarter, according to 13-F regulatory data compiled by FactSet.

The iPhone-maker's stock had been a hedge fund darling for a long time. The stock had been the top purchase in the fourth quarter of 2015. According to Goldman Sachs, Apple ranked 7th among the stocks that "matter most" with 47 of 860 large hedge funds holding it as a top ten equity position.

"Apple, which was the top purchase by hedge funds last quarter, became the top sale by hedge funds in Q1," FactSet's Andrew Birstingl said in a new report. "The company saw $7.1 billion of its stock removed by hedge funds. Icahn Associates Holding was the main contributor to the selloff, as the activist firm exited its entire investment,valued at $4.8 billion."

Hedge funds dumped Apple like crazy. (Image: FactSet)
Hedge funds dumped Apple like crazy. (Image: FactSet)

During the first quarter, billionaire investor Carl Icahn dumped his entire position of 45,760,848 shares. Icahn wasn't the only seller.

David Tepper of Appaloosa Management exited his position of 1.26 million shares. Julian Robertson's Tiger Management unloaded its entire stake, a position of 409,310 shares, as did "Tiger Cub" Philippe Laffont's Coatue Management, which sold its 6.8 million shares in the first quarter.

Not everyone has been selling.

Famed investor Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, which historically has shied away from technology stocks, disclosed a $1 billion position in Apple.

Elsewhere, Leon Cooperman's Omega Advisors added a new position in Apple, a stake of 227,000 shares. David Einhorn's Greenlight Capital boosted its stake, and it's also the fund's largest stock position.

Apple's stock had ended the first quarter up just over 3%. However, shares of Apple are down more than 10% year-to-date. The stock has also been largely dragged down after Apple whiffed on its second-quarter earnings with sales declining for the first time in 13 years. Wall Street analysts described the miss as "painful." Some analysts saw the miss as a time to get bullish on the stock.

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Julia La Roche is a finance reporter at Yahoo Finance.

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