In this article, we are going to look into Billionaire Michael Platt's Top 10 Stock Picks. If you want to skip ahead, follow this link to read about Billionaire Michael Platt's Top 5 Stock Picks.

British billionaire Michael Platt is a notable figure in the hedge fund world. He co-founded BlueCrest Capital Management with American William Reeves in 2000 after working for almost a decade at JP Morgan. In 23 years, BlueCrest has grown to more than $60 billion in assets under management. Platt himself has become one of the richest men in the world and is currently considered the wealthiest hedge fund manager in the UK, according to Sunday Times, with an estimated net worth of 11.5 billion pounds ($14.29 billion).

In 2011, Platt made headlines, when reportedly he was approached by another renowned billionaire investor George Soros. According to reports, Soros asked Platt to take an investment of around $1 billion, but for a 0.5% management fee and a 10% performance fee, which was significantly lower than the industry standard fee of 2% and 20%, respectively. Platt declined the offer.

Michael Platt of BlueCrest Capital Mgmt.

According to Bloomberg, Platt expanded into stocks in 2013 in order to compete with Israel Englander's Millennium Management and Steven Cohen's now-defunct SAC Capital Advisors. In order to achieve this, Platt obtained a loan worth $750 million from 16 banks in order to hire equity money managers and for capital purposes to start trading.

In 2015, BlueCrest announced that it would return all capital to outside investors (around $7 billion) and focus on managing the money of its partners and employees. In the statement, Platt explained that the decision would allow BlueCrest to be "stronger and more flexible". Following this move, BlueCrest scored returns of more than 25% per year and managed an astonishing return of 153% in 2022, according to Forbes.

In its latest 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, BlueCrest disclosed an equity portfolio worth $3.06 billion as of the end of the first quarter of 2023, which represents a decrease from $3.74 billion a quarter earlier. More than half of the portfolio is allocated to the Financial sector, followed by Telecom and Industrials.

At the same time, out of 335 holdings, 42 positions are in CALL and PUT options.

Additionally, it's worth mentioning that the fund's nine largest holdings are in options, the top spot being represented by SPDR Gold Trust (NYSEARCA:GLD), in which BlueCrest holds $322.83 million in CALLs, followed by $211.78 million in Invesco QQQ Trust Series 1 (NASDAQ:QQQ) CALLs and $202.46 million in SPDR Gold Trust (NYSEARCA:GLD) PUTs.

In this article, we're going to focus on billionaire Michael Platt's top 10 stock picks. We scanned through BlueCrest's 13F filing and focused only on positions in which the fund holds shares rather than options or warrants.

Without any further ado, let's look into companies that made the list of billionaire Michael Platt's top 10 stock picks.

10. CNH Industrial NV (NYSE:CNHI)

Shares held by BlueCrest Capital Management: 917,697

Value of Position: $14.01 million

We will start off with CNH Industrial NV (NYSE:CNHI), which represents a new addition to BlueCrest' equity portfolio as the fund picked up a $14 million position in the company in the first three months of 2023. Shares of CNH Industrial NV (NYSE:CNHI) declined by more than 16% since the beginning of the year.

CNH Industrial NV (NYSE:CNHI) is a multinational corporation focused on agricultural and construction equipment, which it builds under Case IH and New Holland, and Steyr brands. The company can benefit in the long-run from the growing demand for food. Last year, it made the decision to exit the construction market in China from the beginning of 2023 as part of its plan to turn around its global construction business. Moreover, recently CNH Industrial NV (NYSE:CNHI) has sold its business in Russia for around $60 million.

There were 35 funds followed by Insider Monkey that held shares of CNH Industrial NV (NYSE:CNHI) at the end of March, up by three over the quarter.

9. ICON PLC (NASDAQ:ICLR)

Shares held by BlueCrest Capital Management: 68,700

Value of Position: $14.67 million

The $16.7 billion multinational clinical research company ICON PLC (NASDAQ:ICLR) was also added to BlueCrest's portfolio during the first quarter of 2023 as the fund acquired 68,700 shares. Overall, there were 40 funds tracked by Insider Monkey bullish on the company at the end of March, down from 43 funds a quarter earlier.

In its latest quarterly results, ICON PLC (NASDAQ:ICLR) reported EPS of $2.90, slightly higher than expected, while its revenue of $1.98 billion increased by 4.2% on the year and missed the estimates by a narrow margin of $3.0 million. The company also reaffirmed its full-year revenue guidance of $7.94 billion to $8.34 billion and EPS forecast between $12.40 and $13.05. During the earnings call, ICON PLC (NASDAQ:ICLR)'s CEO Dr. Steve Cutler highlighted that the company is facing macroeconomic headwinds that are impacting the whole industry.

8. JD.Com Inc (NASDAQ:JD)

Shares held by BlueCrest Capital Management: 335,000

Value of Position: $14.70 million

BlueCrest also added JD.Com Inc (NASDAQ:JD) to its equity portfolio during the first quarter, with the company also making the list of billionaire Michael Platt's top 10 stock picks. JD.Com Inc (NASDAQ:JD)'s shares lost 23% between March and January and are down by 43% since the beginning of the year. The decline in the share price of one of the leading Chinese eCommerce companies might have been impacted by growing concerns about the outlook of Chinese economy and lack of the expected boom following the post-Covid reopening.

Nevertheless, JD.Com Inc (NASDAQ:JD) delivered a stellar first quarter with both revenue of $34.98 billion and EPS of $0.69 topping the consensus estimates by $138.17 million and $0.18, respectively.

With 59 hedge funds in our database holding an aggregate $2.45 billion worth of shares, JD.Com Inc (NASDAQ:JD) ranks as one of the 5 best Chinese stocks to buy now

7. Rithm Capital Corp (NYSE:RITM)

Shares held by BlueCrest Capital Management: 1.86 million

Value of Position: $14.91 million

In Rithm Capital Corp (NYSE:RITM), a $3.9 billion real estate investment trust, Michael Platt's fund inched up its stake by 15% to 1.86 million shares. The company's stock fell about 7% over the past six months. The stock has a dividend yield of 12.6%. In March, Rithm announced a dividend of $0.25 per share.

While the growing concerns about the US economy and raising interest rates might have an impact on the whole Financial Services sector, Rithm Capital expects that this could also create some opportunities. During the first-quarter earnings call, Rithm Capital Corp (NYSE:RITM)'s CEO Michael Nierenberg mentioned that they see "a huge pipeline of opportunities on both the asset side, as well as in some potential M&A." He added that the company has around $1.5 billion in cash and liquidity, which would allow Rithm to take advantage of the "market dislocations."

In April, Rithm Capital Corp (NYSE:RITM)  said that it is expanding into Europe and has opened a new office in London, UK in order to invest in real estate an consumer finance sectors in the region.

Rithm Capital Corp (NYSE:RITM), which is one of the most undervalued REIT stocks to buy according to hedge funds, saw 19 funds holding an aggregate $91.24 million worth of shares. Among these investors, the largest stake is held by Dmitry Balyasny's Balyasny Asset Management, which reported ownership of 4.11 million shares as of the end of March, followed by David E. Shaw's D E Shaw position of 2.90 million shares.

6. Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:OXY)

Shares held by BlueCrest Capital Management: 249,570

Value of Position: $15.58 million

Then there's Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:OXY), which was also added to BlueCrest's 13F portfolio during the first quarter, although the fund had previously acquired a stake in the third quarter of 2022, but closed it in the following three months. Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:OXY) is one of the most popular oil and gas stocks among hedge funds in our database, with 81 funds holding shares of the company as of the end of March, an increase from 71 funds a quarter earlier. Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway is one of Occidental's top shareholders and has inched up its position by 9% to 211.71 million shares between January and March. Buffett also holds preferred shares worth around $10 billion, which the company has started to buy back earlier this year.

Amid a slump in oil prices, Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:OXY) missed both top and bottom-line estimates in the first quarter. The company posted EPS of $1.09, which was lower than the expected $1.27, while its revenue dropped by 15% on the year to $7.26 billion, despite higher-than-forecasted production figures

Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:OXY) currently pays a dividend of $0.18 per share, which gives its stock a yield of 0.97%. It is committed to continue rewarding its investors with CEO Vicky Hollub mentioning during the earnings call that Occidental would distribute any excess cash to shareholders.

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