One of the biggest hedge funds in the U.S. increased its bets on key cyclical stocks during the second quarter, according to securities filings. Soroban Capital Partners, which is one of the 25 largest hedge funds by equity position according to FactSet, significantly raised its stake in both CSX and Union Pacific in the second quarter. The combined position in those stocks was nearly $2.6 billion at the end of June. Both of the railroad stocks are down for the year, but they have outperformed the S & P 500. Soroban, co-founded by Eric Mandelblatt, has nearly $13 billion in equity positions, according to FactSet. The fund made several hundred million dollars on commodities bets earlier this year, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal . The chart below shows Soroban’s top holdings as of the end of June and the change in shares held during the quarter, according to securities filings and InsiderScore.com. Outside of the railroads, Soroban has several other major positions in cyclical stocks, such as Mosiac and Cenovus Energy . Cenovus has been a big winner for Soroban, as the stock is up about 50% in 2022. Elsewhere, the fund raised its bet on Visa by 75%, bringing its stake in the payments company to more than $700 million. Soroban also initiated new stakes in S & P Global while dumping all of its shares in electric vehicle start-up Rivian . The quarterly filings by hedge funds show only the holdings of long equity positions and some options, so it is unclear if Soroban holds other derivatives positions on stocks or commodities.
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