It’s no secret that Stanley Druckenmiller has a unique investment philosophy, cultivated during his tenure with one of the masters of the financial universe. The founder of celebrated hedge fund Duquesne Capital Management and former head trader for billionaire financier George Soros’ Quantum Fund takes a top-down approach to his investment portfolio.
That strategy emphasizes a blend of long and short security positions that consistently seeks to leverage market opportunities via what Druckenmiller has described as solid trading rhythms. It’s not a “right versus wrong” investment approach — it’s more about how much cash you make when you’re right or lose when you’re wrong.
[Sign up for stock news with our Invested newsletter.]
With a reported net worth of $6.9 billion, Druckenmiller has been on the plus side of that ledger ever since he launched Duquesne in 1981. Druckenmiller shut down Duquesne Capital in 2010 and now manages his billions through a New York-based family office. The investment firm’s latest 13F filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, dated Nov. 14 for transactions made through Sept. 30, outlines Duquesne Family Office’s holdings in the third quarter of 2024, with a total value of $2.95 billion (down from $4.39 billion in the first quarter but a slight recovery from $2.92 billion in Q2) and a turnover rate of 30%.
In the second quarter, Duquesne Family Office shorted U.S. bonds and Chinese stocks and took new positions in Mid-America Apartment Communities Inc. (ticker: MAA) and Philip Morris International Inc. (PM). Druckenmiller also slashed his position in Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) by 64%, cut Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) shares by 88%, and pared his Coupang Inc. (CPNG) shares by 51%.
The third quarter finds Druckenmiller at it again, adding 6.6% back to his Coupang shares and boosting his position in Natera Inc. (NTRA) by a whopping 80.6%, moving that stock into the No. 1 portfolio spot. His new positions in the SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF (KRE), Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) and Ascendis Pharma A/S (ASND) represent a combined 7% of Duquesne’s portfolio in the third quarter. However, he sold 63% of his shares of MAA and 61%, or over 4 million shares, of Kinder Morgan Inc. (KMI), a new position as of Q1.
Druckenmiller’s biggest sales were Vistra Energy Corp. (VST), a position he reduced by 85.1%, and MSFT, which he cut by another 357,395 shares, or 89.2%. MSFT’s percentage of the portfolio went from 6.1% to 0.63% in Q3. And, perhaps most notably, he completely exited his NVDA position.
True to form, Druckenmiller added a total of 33 stocks and exited 22 smaller equity positions in the communications, health care and tech sectors, shaking up Duquesne’s portfolio in the process. The top-10 holdings concentration was 62.6% at the time of the 13F filing, a form required from institutional managers who control at least $100 million in assets. Here’s a closer look at Druckenmiller’s biggest holdings in the third quarter of 2024:
| Stock | % of Portfolio | Market Value of Shares |
| Natera Inc. (NTRA) | 15.3% | $452.8 million |
| Coupang Inc. (CPNG) | 9.7% | $287.1 million |
| Coherent Corp. (COHR) | 9.0% | $264.8 million |
| Woodward Inc. (WWD) | 6.2% | $181.4 million |
| Seagate Technology Holdings PLC (STX) | 6.1% | $179.7 million |
| Philip Morris International Inc. (PM) | 4.7% | $137.7 million |
| MercadoLibre Inc. (MELI) | 3.3% | $98.7 million |
Natera Inc. (NTRA)
After boosting his firm’s position in Natera by 2.4% in the second quarter, at an average purchase price of about $62, Druckenmiller fully committed in the third quarter, nearly doubling his position to 15.3% of the portfolio. The stock trades around $165 per share as of Nov. 22, signaling a big win for Duquesne.
The Austin, Texas-based molecular diagnostic health care testing company is backed by high-profile names like Ark Invest’s Cathie Wood, whose Ark Genomic Revolution ETF (ARKG) holds a decent position (5.4% of the fund) in NTRA shares.
Percentage of portfolio: 15.3% Market value of shares: $452.8 million
Coupang Inc. (CPNG)
This South Korean e-commerce giant excels in key consumer categories such as home goods, apparel and decor, groceries, sporting goods, and electronics.
A second-quarter sell-off reduced Duquesne’s position to 7.9%, with 11 million shares valued at $229.8 million. That was still more than enough to make CPNG the second-largest position in the portfolio. In the third quarter, CPNG is still in the No. 2 spot but with a 9.7% share of the portfolio, after Druckenmiller’s 724,952-share addition.
CPNG shares are up 48.2% year to date as of Nov. 21, after the company outperformed in the third quarter with $7.9 billion in sales, slightly ahead of the consensus estimate of $7.8 billion.
Often touted as the next Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN), Coupang has earned a $30 target price from Bernstein and a $27 price outlook from Morgan Stanley. CPNG currently trades around $24 per share.
Percentage of portfolio: 9.7% Market value of shares: $287.1 million
Coherent Corp. (COHR)
Duquesne added over 1 million shares to its COHR position in the second quarter but pared 611,010 in Q3, leaving it with about 3 million shares of the stock as of Sept. 30. At 9% of the firm’s current portfolio, COHR has a market value of $264.8 million. COHR went from an estimated average price of $54 to $89 by the end of the third quarter, and it closed at $105.72 on Nov. 21, so this pick has performed for the family office.
The Saxonburg, Pennsylvania, engineered materials company is up 142.9% year to date and a dazzling 201% for the year, so clearly this one is flying under the radar. The company makes and markets optoelectronic components and lasers for industrial, communications and electronics use and has global reach.
Percentage of portfolio: 9% Market value of shares: $264.8 million
[See: What’s the Best Cryptocurrency to Buy? 6 Contenders]
Woodward Inc. (WWD)
Duquesne’s position in Woodward grew by 10.8% in the third quarter after holding steady in Q2. The stock composes 6.2% of the portfolio, a slight uptick from 5.7% in the prior period. WWD shares are up a healthy 27.5% year to date and 32% over the past year.
The Fort Collins, Colorado-based aerospace and industrial giant is getting lukewarm write-ups from analysts like TD Cowen, which recently downgraded WWD from “buy” to “hold,” and Deutsche Bank, which capped its one-year price target at $162 per share. Wells Fargo recently affirmed its “hold” call on the stock with a price target of $177 per share. WWD’s share price closed at $172.51 on Nov. 21.
Percentage of portfolio: 6.2% Market value of shares: $181.4 million
Seagate Technology Holdings PLC (STX)
This data storage technology and infrastructure company is using artificial intelligence to improve its data center, as the volume and size of AI-generated content are expected to grow substantially in the next decade. Given Seagate’s leading position in the hard disc drive marketplace, the company is expected to benefit from higher HDD demand.
Analysts concur with that assessment, offering a consensus estimate of 37% revenue growth in 2025 and 13% in 2026. That’s a big reason why Morgan Stanley holds an overweight position in the stock, with a $133 price target. Duquesne’s position dropped 6.5% in Q3, but it still represents 6.1% of the portfolio.
STX shares trade around $100 as of Nov. 21, and the stock is up 35.1% over the past year. STX also offers investors a decent forward dividend yield of 2.9%.
Percentage of portfolio: 6.1% Market value of shares: $179.7 million
Philip Morris International Inc. (PM)
Duquesne added to its shares of PM by 245,280 in the third quarter, a 27.6% increase. The position moved from 3.1% of the portfolio in the second quarter to 4.7% in Q3, with a market value of nearly $138 million.
Philip Morris International’s operational headquarters are in Lausanne, Switzerland, but it is legally based in Stamford, Connecticut. It may not pass most environmental, social and governance, or ESG, screenings due to the addictive nature of its tobacco products, as well as its market exposure to Russia. But if it’s any consolation, PM has committed to earning two-thirds of its revenue from smoke-free products by 2030.
Analysts have positively noted PM’s upside potential if it is able to navigate that transition. And PM remains a popular consumer staples stock with a regularly increasing dividend (16 consecutive years) and a 10-year compound annual growth rate of 4%.
Percentage of portfolio: 4.7% Market value of shares: $137.7 million
MercadoLibre Inc. (MELI)
E-commerce platform MercadoLibre’s shares fell more than 16% in early November after its third-quarter earnings failed to meet analysts’ expectations, despite solid sales. MercadoLibre is focused on Brazil, Mexico and Argentina, and its fintech Mercado Pago features a digital wallet that resembles Venmo. As e-commerce opportunities grow in Mexico and the heavily cash-driven economy opens doors for fintech, MercadoLibre is expected to benefit as one of the major players in the region.
Duquesne added 31.8% to its shares in the third quarter, boosting its position in MELI from 2.1% to 3.3% of its portfolio. The stock is up 31.6% over the past year.
Percentage of portfolio: 3.3% Market value of shares: $98.7 million
More from U.S. News
10 Stocks Jeff Bezos Is Buying
10 Stocks Warren Buffett Just Bought and Sold
6 Best Elon Musk Investments to Buy
Stanley Druckenmiller Portfolio: 7 Top Stocks in 2024 originally appeared on usnews.com
Update 11/22/24: This story was published at an earlier date and has been updated with new information.
