Switzerland’s central bank more than quadrupled its stake in AMC Entertainment stock, bought more Uber shares, initiated a stake in Lyft, and sold McDonald’s stock in the second quarter.
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Switzerland’s central bank recently made some major changes in its U.S.-listed investments.
The Swiss National Bank more than quadrupled its stake in AMC Entertainment Holdings (ticker: AMC), bought more Uber Technologies (UBER) shares, initiated an investment in Lyft (LYFT) stock, and cut back on its McDonald’s (MCD) investment. The bank disclosed the stock trades in a form it filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The bank said it doesn’t comment on individual positions of its assets. As of Dec. 31, the Swiss National Bank had total assets of $1.1 trillion.
The bank bought 637,100 additional AMC shares in the second quarter to increase its investment in the movie-theater chain to 832,741 shares.
AMC stock rocketed more than 27 times in share price in the first half of 2021, and tumbled 41% so far in the third quarter. For comparison, the S&P 500 index rose 14.4% in the first half, and has gained 4.0% so far in the third quarter.
AMC shares caught fire early this year as one of the so-called meme stocks that were lifted by supporters on social media. AMC CEO Adam Aron added the chairman title in July. Second-quarter results, reported earlier this month, were better than expected. “We believe this gives AMC financial staying power to navigate boldly amidst coronavirus waters,” Aron said regarding the results.
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The Swiss National Bank made big investments in ride-hailing operators Uber and Lyft, buying 1,176,302 more shares of the former to raise its stake to 4.9 million shares, and initiating a stake in the latter of 1,044,300 shares.
Uber stock slipped 1.7% in the first half, and slipped 15.8% so far in the third quarter. Lyft shares soared 23.1% in the first half, and have fallen 11.7% since.
Uber and Lyft both noted that their bottom lines were hurt by driver incentives. Uber is expanding its freight business. Both companies, one prominent investor says, took advantage of pandemic-related slowdowns to improve their operations.
The bank cut its stake in McDonald’s, selling 484,025 shares of the burger giant to end the second quarter with 3 million shares. McDonald’s stock rose 7.6% in the first half, and has gained 3.4% so far in the third quarter.
McDonald’s stock tumbled in late July after a strong earnings report. Partnering with celebrities on meals has been a recipe for success. One analyst thinks the Delta variant of Covid-19 won’t interrupt the chain’s momentum beyond the short term. McDonald’s has been running out of paper bags, as even patrons dining in want their food bagged.
Inside Scoop is a regular Barron’s feature covering stock transactions by corporate executives and board members—so-called insiders—as well as large shareholders, politicians, and other prominent figures. Due to their insider status, these investors are required to disclose stock trades with the Securities and Exchange Commission or other regulatory groups.
Write to Ed Lin at [email protected] and follow @BarronsEdLin.
