Bridgewater Associates, led by billionaire Ray Dalio, trimmed stake in Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) in the fourth quarter when shares of the electric vehicle maker soared and the world’s largest hedge fund significantly raised its exposure in the U.S- listed Chinese electric vehicle maker Nio Inc (NYSE:NIO) during the period, regulatory filings show.
What Happened: The hedge fund owned 25,488 shares in the Elon Musk-led Tesla at the end of the fourth quarter of 2021, down 60.4% from 64,466 shares that it held at the end of the third quarter.
During the fourth quarter, Tesla shares rose and its market capitalization breached the trillion-dollar milestone for the first time after record deliveries and a large order from car rental company Hertz Global Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:HTZ).
Tesla shares had risen 54.7% in the fourth quarter.
The hedge fund added stakes in Nio and held 3.06 million shares in the Shanghai, China-based EV maker at the end of the fourth quarter, up 8.04% from 2.83 million that it held at the end of the third quarter.
Nio shares were down 11% in the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31.
Bridgewater Associates lowered stakes in Nio’s local rivals Xpeng Inc (NYSE:XPEV) and Li Auto Inc (NASDAQ:LI) in the fourth quarter and held 1.07 million shares and 1.55 million shares, respectively, in the two EV companies.
Legacy Rivals: The Westport, Connecticut-based hedge fund also lowered positions in U.S. legacy automakers General Motors Co (NYSE:GM) and Ford Motor Co (NYSE:F).
The hedge fund held 200,366 shares in GM at the end of the fourth quarter, down 53% from the 428,031 shares that it held at the end of the third quarter.
In Ford, the investment firm held 1.7 million shares at the end of the fourth quarter, down 34% from 2.6 million shares previously.
GM and Ford shares rose 11.2% and 46.6% in the fourth quarter.
Bridgewater Associates counts Onto Innovation Inc (NYSE:ONTO) and Ensign Group Inc (NASDAQ:ENSG) among the top five holdings.
Photo: Courtesy of World Economic Forum via Flickr
