No. of Recommendations: 0
'Given the subsequent gains in many of the stocks that Berkshire unloaded, the company would have done better to keep them in its $350 billion equity portfolio.
The most notable recent example is Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM), or TSMC, according to Berkshire's latest 13-F filing.
In the third quarter, Berkshire bought a stake of 60 million Taiwan Semi shares, only to sell 86% of the holding in the fourth quarter to end 2022 with just 8.3 million shares, worth less than $800 million. The news of the stock sale, which occurred after the close of trading Tuesday, is dragging down Taiwan Semi stock, which slid 6.6% to $91.53 in recent Wednesday trading.
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Berkshire might not have made any profit on the stock, given that the average price of Taiwan Semi averaged $72 a share in the fourth quarter, $10 less than in the third quarter. Berkshire has missed out on some nice gains so far in 2023, with TSMC up about 24% year to date. Berkshire's purchase of the stock generated a lot of excitement when it was disclosed in mid-November; Taiwan Semi stock popped more than 10% on the news. But this latest round of turnover suggests that investors may want to curb their enthusiasm about the disclosure of new Berkshire investments.'
