Shares of SoFi (NASDAQ:SOFI) stock are down by more than 10% so far this year, although a major institutional investor just disclosed that it has increased its stake in the company.
Yesterday was the fourth-quarter 13F deadline, revealing to the public institutional investments as of Dec. 31. During the quarter, Ken Griffin’s Citadel Advisors boosted its existing SoFi stake by 632%, picking up 3.92 million shares. Following the purchase, the multinational hedge fund now owns 4.55 million shares of SOFI stock.
It should be worth noting that Citadel owns a total of 5,819 positions, according to HedgeFollow. Among those positions, SoFi tallies in as the firm’s 1,269th largest position.
Citadel Increases Its SOFI Stock Position by 632%
Furthermore, Citadel also owns puts and calls against the personal finance company. As of Dec. 31, its 841st largest position was puts against 7.87 million shares. During the quarter, Citadel sold off puts against 283,400 shares.
Calls against 10.91 million shares of SOFI represented Citadel’s 632nd largest position as of the end of 2023. During Q4, Citadel acquired calls against 2.14 million shares of the company. The strike price and expiration date of these options are unknown and are not required to be disclosed under U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) policies.
Combined, Citadel’s exposure to SoFi leans bullish. The firm has an average 13F holding period of 19.6 quarters, or 4.9 years.
Last year, Citadel pulled in $8.1 billion of profits. Since its inception in 1990, the fund has generated $74 billion of profits, cementing it as the most profitable — and possibly the best — hedge fund of all time.
So, what does Citadel see in SoFi and SOFI stock? During Q4, the company reported adjusted net revenue growth of 34% to $594 million. It was also profitable with a GAAP EPS of 2 cents, marking SoFi’s first profitable quarter since it became publicly traded.
However, SoFi guided for slowing revenue growth. It expects compound revenue growth between 20% and 25% from 2023 to 2026. For Q1 2024, the company expects adjusted net revenue between $550 million and $560 million. SoFi has a history of beating revenue estimates, so this could possibly be conservative guidance.
On the date of publication, Eddie Pan did not hold (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
