Hedge fund mogul Tepper's Q2: Buying UnitedHealth with Buffett at the bottom, reducing holdings in Chinese concept stocks, but Alibaba remains the top position

Famous hedge fund manager David Tepper showcased his contrarian investment style again in the second quarter by significantly increasing his holdings in the troubled UnitedHealth Group while reducing his positions in Chinese concept stocks.

On August 14, according to the 13F filing, Tepper's Appaloosa Management increased its UnitedHealth holdings by 2.3 million shares, with a value of $764 million.

The latest disclosure shows that UnitedHealth currently accounts for 11.9% of Appaloosa's $6.45 billion stock portfolio, making it the fund's second-largest holding after Alibaba. Coincidentally, Buffett also built a position in UnitedHealth during the same period.

Meanwhile, Tepper significantly reduced his holdings in Chinese concept stocks, including Alibaba, JD.com, and Pinduoduo. Despite a reduction of over 20%, Alibaba still maintains its position as Appaloosa's largest holding with a value of approximately $802 million.

At the same time, Tepper increased his holdings in NVIDIA (1.45 million shares/483%), Amazon (190,000 shares/7.6%), and TSMC (755,000 shares/279.6%); he reduced his holdings in Meta (150,000 shares/27%), Google's parent company Alphabet (510,000 shares/25%), Uber (450,000 shares/14%), and Lyft (1 million shares/11%).

Increasing Holdings in UnitedHealth Against the Trend, in Sync with "Oracle of Omaha" Buffett

Tepper's significant increase in UnitedHealth demonstrates his typical contrarian investment strategy.

During the second quarter, UnitedHealth's stock price plummeted by about 40%, becoming one of the worst-performing stocks in the S&P 500 index. The company faced multiple crises, including the suspension of its annual performance guidance, a change in CEO, and reportedly facing a criminal investigation for Medicare fraud.

In July, UnitedHealth stated that it was cooperating with the Department of Justice investigation and expressed "full confidence" in its business operations. It was in this atmosphere of market panic that Tepper chose to significantly increase his position, raising its value to $764 million, accounting for 11.9% of his portfolio.

Coincidentally, the "Oracle of Omaha" Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway also disclosed building a position in UnitedHealth during the same period. According to a previous article from Wallstreetcn, Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway acquired over 5 million shares of UnitedHealth, with a market value of nearly $1.6 billion at the end of the quarter.

The synchronized actions of hedge fund mogul Tepper and investment master Buffett boosted market confidence, and UnitedHealth's stock price surged nearly 10% in after-hours trading.

Significant Reduction in Chinese Concept Stocks, Alibaba Remains at the Top

Despite Tepper's contrarian buying of Chinese concept stocks last year when investors were fleeing and achieving substantial returns, he chose to significantly reduce his related holdings in the second quarter.

The MSCI China Index has risen about 46% over the past year, indicating that his previous bets on Chinese concept stocks were indeed successful. Against the backdrop of the Trump tariff war impacting global markets, Tepper began to cut his exposure to Chinese concept stocks. Specifically:

Alibaba's holdings decreased by more than 20% to 7.1 million shares, but it still maintains its position as Appaloosa's largest holding with a value of approximately $802 million.

Other Chinese concept stocks saw even larger reductions, JD.com's holdings were cut by 13%, Baidu decreased by 19%, and Pinduoduo was significantly reduced by over 50%.

Analysis indicates that this series of adjustments shows that even Tepper, known for contrarian investing, is beginning to adopt a more cautious attitude towards the prospects of Chinese concept stocks