As This Hedge Fund Sells NVDA , GOOGL, and META, Here Is 1 Blue-Chip Stock It’s Loading Up On
- Finance
ThePostMaster- 0
- 8 minutes read
Fears of an artificial intelligence bubble are continuing to roil the markets; while AI was one of the biggest drivers in the stock market over the last three years, leading to a long bull market in the S&P 500 ($SPX), AI stocks are struggling in 2026. Meanwhile, energy and consumer stocks are getting more action as investors shift some of their dollars away from AI.
Renaissance Technologies is among those moving money around. The hedge fund reduced its exposure to Nvidia (NVDA) in the fourth quarter from 5.63 million shares to fewer than 900,000. The fund also completely exited its stake in Meta Platforms (META), and cut its Alphabet (GOOG) (GOOGL) shares from 2.61 million to just 296,000.
Among its purchases were Costco Wholesale (COST), the warehouse-style retailer that sells everything from groceries to electronics, according to its 13F filing. Renaissance increased its position from 13,024 shares to 693,000 shares in the fourth quarter.
COST stock is off to a strong start in 2026, up more than 18% as it continues to open new locations and drives higher engagement on its website and app. Should investors be giving Costco a second look right now? Let’s dive in.
Costco is a warehouse-style retailer based in Washington state. The company’s business model is to utilize the power of bulk purchasing and reduced handling of merchandise to offer lower prices than other retailers. Costco’s no-frills warehouses are open only to members, which promotes exclusivity and provides Costco with an additional revenue stream through membership fees.
Despite the run-up in Costco stock so far this year, shares are still down 5% over the last 12 months, far below the 12% gain of the S&P 500 over the same period. Costco also badly trails its most direct competitor, Walmart (WMT), which operates Sam’s Club retail warehouses. WMT stock is up nearly 30% in the last year.
COST stock is also expensive according to its valuation. The forward price-to-earnings ratio of 50.1 is higher than its five-year mean of 44.8. Buying Costco today means you are paying a premium.
The stock pays a quarterly dividend of $1.30, which sounds good on the surface. But considering Costco’s share price is over $1,000, the yield on Costco stock is only 0.5%.
