Institutional investors took new positions in semiconductor stocks including Intel and Micron during the first quarter, positioning to profit from a rally that extended into Q2, according to a Bond.az overview of 13-F filings with the SEC.
Nearly 5,000 of the 6,600 filers reported buying one or more of 17 semiconductor firms tracked by Bond.az.
Micron was among the most aggressively purchased, with shares soaring 154% year-to-date amid AI-driven demand for memory chips. A total of 2,440 institutions reported new positions, including Rockefeller Capital Management and Schroder Investment Management.
Intel followed, with shares up 195% year-to-date. Tiger Global Management, Neuberger Berman, and MetLife Asset Management disclosed new positions.
Northern Trust initiated positions in Intel, Micron, Seagate Technology, and Western Digital, whose shares have surged 188% and 179% respectively.
Institutions also bought AI infrastructure stocks: over 4,000 added or initiated positions in Oracle, Arista Networks, and Vertiv. Only 164 sold.
Data center and utility stocks saw strong buying interest, with no institutions reducing utility exposure and nearly 3,800 adding positions.
For the "Magnificent Seven" AI giants like Meta and Microsoft, sellers slightly outnumbered buyers amid uncertainty over AI spending sustainability.
Bill Ackman's Pershing Square opened a new position in Microsoft, funded by selling its Alphabet stake.
Palantir attracted 143 new investors, including Mubadala Capital with a $9.9 million stake. Mubadala also initiated a position in Shopify.
Overall, institutions were more inclined to sell than buy software-as-a-service stocks amid AI disruption fears.
