Melvin Capital Management, the hedge fund at the heart of the GameStop saga that captivated observers in January, bought 4.66 million Facebook Class A shares valued at $1.27 billion in the fourth quarter of 2020, according to a Form 13F filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission this week.
Founded by star portfolio manager Gabe Plotkin, Melvin Capital started 2021 with $12.5 billion in assets, and, by the end of January, ended with more than $8 billion in assets.
The fund got burned, along with other high-profile hedge funds, as an army of Reddit day traders sparred with Wall Street investors to push shares of the video-game retailer to intraday highs over $450. Melvin Capital closed its short position in GameStop on January 27.
Assuming Melvin Capital still owns its full Facebook stake, the firm will need much stronger performance to offset the GameStop loss. The stock is up just 0.3% year-to-date.
In 2020, Plotkin took home $846 million, netting him a spot among the top hedge fund earners last year, according to Bloomberg. 15 hedge fund managers took home an estimated $23 billion in 2020, with Tiger Global Management founder Chase Colman taking the top spot, with $3 billion, according to Bloomberg.
GameStop has since fallen from its January closing high of $380 after starting the year at $19. On Tuesday, shares of the company closed at $49.51.
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