Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing's U.S.-listed ADRs are selling off this morning, even after it delivered another big earnings beat.
Some analysts are pointing to the chip giant's big capex plans as a possible catalyst. But it could be more simple than that: Some big investors are ending their love affair with chips.
In fact, Goldman Sachs' prime brokerage unit said in a note yesterday that hedge funds' aggregate net exposure to its broad AI basket-which includes names like Advanced Micro Devices, Micron and Nvidia-has fallen to its lowest this year.
That suggests that hedge funds are locking in profits after an explosive run-up. The sector's rally has already delivered gains, with PivotalPath data showing a 7.4% return for hedge funds in the first half of the year-comfortably outpacing the 5.2% historical average.
But all of that fresh cash will have to go somewhere. So what could investors be eyeing instead?
One of the ideas Goldman's baskets team likes: Buying the dip in hyperscalers-companies like Meta, Alphabet and Oracle-whose stocks have struggled more this year.
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