Credit: Shutterstock photoThird Point manager Daniel Loeb ( Trades , Portfolio ) follows an activist, event-driven approach to investing. During the third quarter, Loeb boosted his Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. ( BABA ) position and initiated three new positions: Vantiv Inc. ( VNTV ), Shire PLC ( SHPG ) and Marathon Petroleum Corp. ( MPC ).
Alibaba rises on strong outlook
Loeb added 2.1 million shares of Alibaba for an average price of $161.93 per share. With this transaction, the activist investor increased his portfolio 3.05%.
Alibaba CEO Daniel Zhang said the company's "consumer insights and technology innovation" contributed to a solid September quarter. The company's net revenues increased 61% year over year, driven by strong increases in active users and developments in core commerce.
The Chinese retail giant celebrated "11.11 Singles Day" with three key initiatives: Alibaba economy of scale, the power of the Chinese customer and new retail implementations. Tmall, one of China's major retail platforms, expects to "leverage its popularity outside China," market hundreds of Chinese brands overseas and target overseas Chinese customers around the world. Such initiatives can further increase Alibaba's profit margins, which are outperforming over 95% of global competitors. Alibaba has a profitability rank of 9 and a GuruFocus business predictability rank of four stars.
Investor starts three new positions
Loeb invested in 2.75 million shares of Vantiv, 1.2 million shares of Shire and 2.75 million shares of Marathon Petroleum. The three companies averaged $68.09, $156.90 and $53.59 per share during the quarter. With these three transactions, Loeb increased his portfolio 4.47% in the aggregate.
Vantiv, a payment processing company, was formerly a division of Fifth Third Bancorp ( FITB ). The company has a profitability rank of 7, driven by good profit margins and three-year revenue growth.
GuruFocus ranks Shire's profitability 8 out of 10 as the company has strong profit margins and returns. The company's operating margin, return on equity and return on assets outperform approximately 80% of global competitors. Additionally, Shire's Piotroski F-score ranks a good 6 out of 9.
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This article first appeared on GuruFocus .
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
