Appaloosa Management Adds Stakes in Facebook, Expedia

   By Erin McCarthy 
 

David Tepper's Appaloosa Management LP disclosed Thursday it added a stake in Facebook Inc. and Expedia Inc. as of March 31, according to a regulatory filing.

The firm reported it held 478,500 shares of Facebook, a notable addition to its $9.1 billion portfolio. Appaloosa also added a stake to online travel company Expedia, purchasing 695,837 shares during the quarter. The investor also increased its holdings of Comcast Corp. and Apple Inc.

The disclosure of these moves comes a day after Mr. Tepper struck a cautious note while speaking at the annual SALT conference in Las Vegas. There, he said the investment environment has become more difficult and expressed concerns about slow U.S. growth and the risk of a global economy that will worsen unless the European Central Bank takes aggressive action.

A number of hedge funds in recent months have argued that European markets are attractive, but only if the European Central Bank takes more steps to ease monetary policy to help the European economy.

Mr. Tepper took a more bearish and blunt stance, describing the ECB as being "really, really behind the curve."

Mr. Tepper's warnings are especially notable because he built his firm, and fortune, with concentrated wagers on certain assets appreciating. Though at times he has made bearish investments, he is best known for scoring huge paydays owning bank investments in 2009 and going big on U.S. equities, including airlines, in 2013.

Such warnings appear to echo Appaloosa's move to decrease holdings of the SPDR S&P 500 ETF during the first quarter. The firm shed about 5% of its holdings of the exchange-traded fund to 10.8 million shares.

Investors who manage more than $100 million are required to disclose most securities holdings within a month and a half of the end of a quarter; the first-quarter deadline was Thursday. The filings give the public a relatively fresh look at the portfolios of high-profile investors.

Write to Erin McCarthy at [e-mail]

Access Investor Kit for Apple, Inc.

Visit http://www.companyspotlight.com/partner?cp_code=A591&isin=US0378331005

Access Investor Kit for Comcast Corp.

Visit http://www.companyspotlight.com/partner?cp_code=A591&isin=US20030N1019

Access Investor Kit for Comcast Corp.

Visit http://www.companyspotlight.com/partner?cp_code=A591&isin=US20030N2009

Access Investor Kit for Expedia, Inc.

Visit http://www.companyspotlight.com/partner?cp_code=A591&isin=US30212P3038

Access Investor Kit for Facebook, Inc.

Visit http://www.companyspotlight.com/partner?cp_code=A591&isin=US30303M1027

Access Investor Kit for Verizon Communications, Inc.

Visit http://www.companyspotlight.com/partner?cp_code=A591&isin=US92343V1044

Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires