This Hedge Fund Legend Just Bought a Stake in Apple

Halftime Report
HALFTIME REPORT -- Pictured: Leon Cooperman, Omega Advisors Chairman & CEO, at the 20th Annual Sohn Investment Conference in New York City on May 4, 2015. -- (Photo by: Adam Jeffery/CNBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images)
CNBC NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images

Warren Buffett is finally in on Apple, and he’s not alone.

Hedge funder Leon Cooperman, CEO of Omega Advisors is buying in as well.

Omega Advisors purchased a 227,000 stake in the tech giant worth $24.7 million as of the end of the first quarter, according to regulatory filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday.

Omega previously dropped a stake in Apple (AAPL) early last year, selling roughly 384,000 shares of the company. It’s not the first time Omega, with $5.1 billion under management, has flip flopped on Apple. In 2013, Cooperman sold off his stake in Apple amid fears that the company’s growth may be slowing—though the iPhone-continued its rise.

Yet, as shares of Apple reach a near two-year low after its disappointing fiscal second quarter earnings report (Apple’s fiscal year ends in September) in late April, Cooperman seems to see more opportunity in the stock—despite flagging iPhone sales.

But the hedge funder has not had an easy few years amid market volatility. The fund dropped 10% in January, was down 10.4% for all of 2015. In 2014, Omega lost 2.8%—performance Cooperman dubbed “embarrassing” in a letter to investors.

 

To add to his woes, the SEC issued a notice to Omega in March, warning the hedge fund that regulators may take enforcement action over trading violations. Cooperman has denied any wrongdoing, and has pledged to defend the firm.

Cooperman noted during the SALT Conference that his sector was “under assault,” with investors pulling $15 billion from the space in the first quarter alone—and raising questions for Cooperman as to whether it’s worth running a hedge fund at all, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The news comes after two hedge funders, Carl Icahn and David Tepper revealed that they had dumped their shares of Apple.

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