BYD share price slides 11% after speculation Buffett exited stake

In today’s top stories, BYD stock tumbles after claims Berkshire Hathaway exited its stake, Bill Ackman winds down his SPAC after raising $4bn and GameStop launches an NFT marketplace. In other headlines, Evercore ISI identifies growth opportunities this earnings season and the EU boosts its chip making capacity with a new facility.

BYD tumbles on Buffett exit rumours

Hong Kong-listed shares of BYD [1211.HK] slumped by more than 11% of Tuesday on speculation that Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway [BRK-A] had exited its stake. It had been triggered by clearing data showing the transfer of 225 million shares to Citibank on 11 July – Buffett bought 225m shares at HK$8 each back in 2008 and hasn’t added more since. BYD has denied the rumour, reported Pandaily. 

Ackman winds down SPAC

Bill Ackman is winding down his SPAC, Pershing Tontine Holdings [PSTH], after failing to secure a suitable target. The SPAC was the biggest ever having raised $4bn and had attracted a cohort of retail investors and the interest of the Reddit crowd. But the wheels fell off last July when Ackman announced it would no longer proceed with a deal to buy 10% of Vivendi’s [VIV.PA]Universal Music Group [UMG.AS].

GameStop launches NFT marketplace

The crypto market may be crashing, but this hasn’t deterred GameStop [GME] from launching its hotly-anticipated NFT marketplace. Back in March, Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter noted that the marketplace had little chance of being a success. “I admire the effort they’re making to transform the company… I just don’t see how they have any competitive advantage,” Pachter wrote. 

Evercore identifies growth opportunities

Earnings season has kicked off and it’s expected to be a tough one, but there are “gazumped growth growers” that should perform well, according to an Evercore ISI note published over the weekend and seen by CNBC. Analysts compiled a list of buying opportunities based on a combination of underperformance and higher-than-average short interest. Tesla [TSLA] topped the list followed by Nvidia [NVDA], Airbnb [ABNB] and Lululemon [LULU].

EU boosts home-grown chip production

France will be the home of a new multi-billion euro semiconductor factory to boost chip production in the European Union. The facility is being built by STMicroelectronics [STM] and GlobalFoundries [GFS] and will reach a full production capacity of up to 620,000 wafers annually by 2026. Like the US, the EU is keen to boost home-grown chip manufacturing and reduce its reliance on Taiwan.

Woodside lists in US and UK

Australian oil and gas major Woodside [WDS.AX] has seen its share price trend downwards in recent weeks as a result of rising commodity prices and recession fears. But a recent merger with BHP [BHP] has brought Woodside to the NYSE, as well as the London Stock Exchange, which could fuel investor interest. The assets Woodside has acquired carry no debt and will strengthen its balance sheet significantly.

Investment firms to report Q2 earnings

The big investment firms BlackRock [BLK], Morgan Stanley [MS], and JP Morgan Chase [JPM], all release their second quarter earnings later this week. Investment banks are less exposed to consumer and business lending, so are unlikely to see their profits tumble as a result of bad debt and reduced spending. Forecasts for the three firms look relatively positive and analysts are generally bullish on all three stocks.