Calpers added to positions in EV stock NIO and videogame maker Activision Blizzard in the fourth quarter.
Greg Baker/AFP via Getty Images
America’s largest public pension by assets under management recently made major changes to its investment portfolio.
The California Public Employees Retirement System bought more NIO (ticker: NIO) and Activision Blizzard (ATVI) shares, and raised its investments in retailers Walmart (WMT) and Target (TGT) in the fourth quarter. Calpers, as the pension fund is known, disclosed the trades, among others, in a form it filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Calpers, which has total assets of $445.6 billion, declined to comment on the stock trades.
The pension bought 284,842 more American depositary receipts of the Chinese electric-vehicle maker, ending 2020 with 2.6 million ADRs. Calpers had been buying up NIO in the third quarter, as well.
NIO ADRs rocketed more than 12 times in value last year, and so far in 2021 through Friday’s close, they were up 16.3%. In comparison, the S&P 500 index, a broad measure of the market, rose 16.3% in 2020, and has gained 3.5% so far this year.
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NIO’s deliveries were strong in January, a bullish sign for investors, who seem to have an insatiable appetite for EV stocks. Nonetheless, NIO moved in January to raise capital through bonds.
Calpers bought 1.8 million Activision shares in the fourth quarter, lifting its investment to 6.2 million shares of the videogame maker.
Activision stock surged 56.3% in 2020 as the homebound stepped up their indoor gaming. So far this year, shares have gained 9.4%.
Earnings last week topped expectations, sending Activision stock zooming. Activision said in December that its latest version of World of Warcraft is the fastest-selling PC game of all time. That announcement was on the heels of another upbeat assessment of the sales of another game.
Walmart stock surged 21.3% in 2020, but so far this year it is nearly flat with a gain of 0.1%.
At least one analyst thinks Walmart stock is due for another double-digit rise in 2021. The retail giant is continuing a digital push, even as its e-commerce chief retired at the end of January.
Calpers bought 824,835 more Walmart shares in the fourth quarter, raising its holdings to 7.3 million shares.
The pension bought 436,897 additional Target shares to raise its investment to 1.9 million shares.
Target stock outdid Walmart’s in 2020, soaring 37.7%, and it has gained 7.0% so far this year.
Target stock slipped in January after investors were disappointed that holiday sales weren’t stronger. The shares still have fans on Wall Street A Barron’s stock pick in the late summer, Target did quite well through the end of 2020.
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
