Billionaire Philippe Laffont’s Contrarian Moves: Selling Meta, Buying The Trade Desk

Philippe Laffont's Coatue Management made waves with its second-quarter portfolio adjustments. The hedge fund divested 76,900 shares of Meta Platforms (META) while accumulating 998,900 shares of The Trade Desk (TTD) - the S&P 500's worst performer this year. This contrarian play comes despite Meta's 16 percentage point outperformance over the index in 2024.

Meta's dominance in social media remains unchallenged, with Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp commanding 3.4 billion daily users. The company's AI-driven recommendation systems have increased user engagement by 5-6% across platforms. Yet Laffont chose to reduce exposure to this advertising behemoth.

The Trade Desk purchase appears particularly bold given its dismal year-to-date performance. As markets puzzle over these moves, Laffont's track record demands attention - Coatue has nearly tripled S&P 500 returns over three years.