Analyzing AO Asset Management's Q2 2022 13F holdings: A Focus on Cybersecurity and Cloud-Based Applications

Investors are always seeking information about the holdings of various funds to guide their investment decisions. Therefore, analyzing the changes in a fund's holdings over a period of time can provide important insights into their investment strategy. In this blog post, we'll take a look at the Q1 2022 vs. Q2 2022 13F holdings of AO Asset Management, LP.

AO Asset Management, LP is a popular hedge fund that invests in various industries, including technology, media, and telecommunications, among others. They recently released their Q2 2022 13F holdings, outlining their investment strategy for the quarter. Let's compare their Q1 2022 and Q2 2022 13F holdings to understand the changes in their investment strategy.

The fund's top holdings in Q1 2022 were T-Mobile US Inc (TMUS), Palo Alto Networks Inc (PANW), and Atlassian Corp Plc (TEAM.MX). However, their top three holdings changed in Q2 2022 to Tenable Hldgs Inc (TENB), Fortinet Inc (FTNT), and Zscaler Inc (ZS). This shift indicates that the fund was exploring more cybersecurity companies in Q2 2022, which is not surprising given the rampant incidences of cyberattacks during this period.

In Q1 2022, AO Asset Management held 159,990 shares in TMUS worth $20,535,000, but in Q2 2022, they reduced their holdings to 122,490 shares worth $16,480,000, a 19.7% reduction. This reduction in holdings could be interpreted as a lack of confidence in TMUS's earnings growth potential. However, it's worth noting that TMUS's share price increased by approximately 11% during the second quarter of 2022.

Similarly, AO Asset Management reduced its holdings in PANW by 43.3%, from 39,568 shares worth $24,631,000 in Q1 2022 to 28,268 shares worth $13,963,000 in Q2 2022. The reduction in holdings could signify that the fund is pulling out of the cybersecurity stocks, but it could also signal that they have taken profits from their holdings, anticipating a decline in PANW's share price. PANW's share price declined by 14.44% between the respective quarters.

AO Asset Management increased its holdings in ZS from 23,118 shares worth $5,578,000 in Q1 2022 to 40,075 shares worth $5,992,000 in Q2 2022, a 7.4% increase. The fund's increased focus on cybersecurity and online security is evident in their increased holdings of ZS, which is a leading provider of cloud security solutions. It is also worth noting that ZS's share price increased by approximately 8% during the second quarter of 2022.

Another notable change in AO Asset Management's holdings is in cloud storage and collaboration company Box Inc (BOX), where the fund reduced its holdings by a massive 78.8%, from 534,773 shares worth $15,541,000 in Q1 2022 to 131,073 shares worth $3,295,000 in Q2 2022. This significant decline may be due to concerns over the intense competition in the cloud storage market from the likes of Amazon, Microsoft, and Google.

Finally, Salesforce Inv (CRM) was the only addition to AO Asset Management's portfolio in Q2 2022, as they held zero shares in Q1 2022. However, in Q2 2022 they held 26,800 shares worth $4,423,000. The company is a leading cloud-based customer relationship management (CRM) software provider, and their inclusion in the portfolio indicates that AO Asset Management is exploring cloud-based applications.

In conclusion, AO Asset Management's Q2 2022 13F holdings reveal that they have reduced their holdings in some of the top technology stocks such as TMUS and PANW, while increasing their focus on cybersecurity stocks such as TENB, FTNT, and ZS. Additionally, the addition of CRM to the portfolio suggests that the fund is exploring cloud-based applications further. However, it's important to note that 13F filings do not reveal all the information regarding a fund's full investment strategy, but by piecing together the information available, investors can make informed decisions.