Meta Falls Out of Many Hedge Funds’ Top-10 Holdings, but Conviction Remains
Meta Platforms (META -0.41%) ranks fifth in hedge fund conviction among stocks analyzed. It is held by 812 funds and has one of the more bullish put/call ratios among the top-tier stocks reviewed, at 0.88. But its appearance in the top-10 holdings of hedge funds fell sharply in Q4 2025.
- Meta's appearances in the top-10 holdings of hedge funds dropped 21%, from 303 to 239. That is the largest high-conviction decline among any of the five most-held stocks.
- Hedge fund share count grew 18% QoQ to 325 million shares. New positions rose slightly from 66 to 77 funds, a 17% increase.
- The put/call ratio of 0.88 indicates relatively bullish options sentiment. A ratio below 1.0 means more call options are outstanding than puts, suggesting sentiment toward the stock is rising.
Meta's AI products include the Llama LLM, an open-source AI model, and generative AI tools for advertisers. Meta is another large investor in AI data center infrastructure. The divergence between rising share count and falling top-10 appearances suggests that while funds are adding shares, fewer are treating it as a primary position.
Rising Conviction: 10 Stocks on Which Hedge Funds Are Moving In
Out of the 35 AI stocks analyzed for hedge fund conviction, the 6th- through 15th-ranked stocks have momentum metric – new positions and top-10 appearance – changes that are rising fastest relative to their absolute ownership levels.
Three stocks in this tier stand out on momentum:
- BlackRock (BLK -0.09%), the asset management and financial services firm, posted the highest raw momentum score in the entire data set (0.685), driven by a 112% surge in new positions (from 25 to 53 funds) and hedge fund share count growing 29% QoQ. BlackRock is expanding its AI and data infrastructure capabilities through acquisitions and platform development.
- Micron Technology (MU +5.07%) saw top-10 holding appearances nearly double, rising 90% from 31 to 59 hedge funds. Micron makes high-bandwidth memory chips used in AI accelerators, and the sharp rise in high-conviction holders suggests funds are positioning it as an AI infrastructure play.
- Salesforce (CRM +8.43%) saw hedge fund share count rise 34% QoQ to 203 million shares, the largest share-count increase in the data set. Its put/call ratio of 0.86 indicates relatively bullish options sentiment. Salesforce has embedded AI agents across its customer relationship management platform.
Advanced Micro Devices (AMD -0.42%) also stands out: Top-10 appearances rose 41% from 22 to 31 funds, and new positions grew 32% QoQ. AMD makes GPUs that compete with Nvidia's in AI workloads.
Arm Holdings (ARM +5.38%) shows a high momentum score (0.680) alongside a 39% increase in hedge fund share count, though absolute holding counts remain small at 128 funds. Arm licenses chip designs used in devices from smartphones to AI servers.
The five remaining AI stocks that have rising conviction among hedge funds are Broadcom (AVGO +4.75%), Check Point Software (CHKP +2.83%), Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM -1.31%), Fortinet (FTNT +6.38%), and The Trade Desk (TTD +1.92%).
Fading Interest: 7 Stocks From Which Hedge Funds Are Pulling Back
Seven of the 35 stocks ranked in this analysis show consistent patterns of declining momentum, falling share counts, or deteriorating conviction metrics.
- Nebius Group (NBIS +2.13%) ranks last in the data set. Hedge fund share count fell 33% QoQ, the steepest decline of any stock analyzed. New positions dropped 46% from the prior quarter. The company operates AI cloud infrastructure and is a recent spinout from Yandex. The sharp selling suggests early institutional interest has not translated into sustained conviction.
- IonQ (IONQ +2.75%) ranks 34th. Hedge fund share count fell 21% QoQ and new positions dropped 51%, from 45 to 22 funds. IonQ is a quantum computing company exploring AI applications. The put/call ratio stood at 1.30 in Q4 2025, indicating bearish options positioning.
- Astera Labs (ALAB -1.76%) ranks 33rd, with hedge fund share count down 11% and new positions declining 32%. Astera makes connectivity chips for AI data centers. The momentum reversal is notable given that it is an AI chip play.
- Alibaba (BABA -1.52%) ranks 32nd. New positions fell 48%, from 85 to 44 funds, the largest drop in new-position formation among fading stocks. Closed positions rose 56%. Alibaba has invested heavily in AI through its cloud division, but hedge fund sentiment has fallen.
- Mobileye Global (MBLY -0.53%) ranks 30th. Funds holding it fell from 99 to 88, and new positions dropped 35%. The autonomous driving company faces competition from Chinese firms and has seen consistent institutional selling for multiple quarters.
Two other AI stocks analyzed for this article that have fading conviction among hedge funds are Palantir (PLTR +9.21%) and Oracle (ORCL +10.84%).
What Hedge Fund Data Shows About AI Stocks
Across 35 AI stocks and Q4 2025 13F filings, the data points to a splitting market. The five most widely held stocks – Amazon, Microsoft, Alphabet, Nvidia, and Meta – remain dominant by ownership count, but momentum is shifting. Amazon is adding fresh institutional buyers at a rate that none of its peers matched that quarter.
Within the rising-conviction tier, the most notable signals are Micron's near-doubling in high-conviction appearances and Salesforce's 34% surge in share count, both suggesting funds are moving into AI infrastructure and AI software application plays beyond the hyperscalers.
Among fading stocks, Nebius and IonQ show the sharpest reversals, with hedge funds reducing exposure to AI names that have not yet demonstrated durable growth.
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