The 'Oracle of Omaha' liquidated positions in General Motors, Procter & Gamble, and Johnson & Johnson—and made a 'mysterious investment'

The latest 13F filing reveals that Berkshire Hathaway—led by Warren Buffett—generated billions of dollars in proceeds by significantly reducing its stakes in several U.S. blue-chip stocks. According to the company’s disclosure, as of the end of the third quarter, Berkshire Hathaway had sold all its remaining shares in General Motors—valued at $780 million—after holding a position worth approximately $8.5 billion in the prior quarter. Although Buffett continues to maintain exposure to energy stocks, Berkshire reduced its Chevron stake by 10% during the quarter. It also sold a small number of UPS shares (59,400 shares) and cut its Hewlett-Packard holdings by 15%—a reduction representing over $1 billion in market value. Berkshire also offloaded modest positions in Johnson & Johnson (327,100 shares) and Procter & Gamble (315,400 shares); as of the end of Q2, each holding was valued at roughly $50 million. However, another filing shows that New England Asset Management—a Berkshire subsidiary managed independently by Buffett—continued to hold shares in both companies as of the end of September. The divestments did not stop there. Berkshire reduced its Amazon stake by 600,000 shares, sold 578,000 shares of Mondelez International (a snack food manufacturer), and exited positions in insurers Markel and Globe Life—selling 1.7 million shares worth $180 million. It also fully liquidated its position in Activision Blizzard, completing an arbitrage investment tied to a corporate merger. Berkshire had bet that Activision Blizzard would successfully sell itself to Microsoft—and indeed, the deal closed in early October this year.

After its stock price plunged 70%, investors are demanding that Novo Nordisk deliver answers beyond weight-loss drugs

In the near term, only Wegovy’s oral formulation remains capable of sustaining momentum—currently retaining a first-mover advantage over Eli Lilly’s oral candidate, Foundayo. Yet analysts widely caution that semaglutide’s patent protection is set to expire in the early 2030s; the oral tablet is merely a temporary bulwark against the looming ‘patent cliff.’ Karen Andersen, a Morningstar analyst, offered blunt advice: “Rather than continuing to pour money into CagriSema, Novo Nordisk should redirect resources toward zenagamtide—an earlier-stage candidate in its pipeline.” Investors don’t want slogans—they want acquisitions. Markus Manns, portfolio manager at Union Investment—which holds shares in both Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly—put it plainly: “The company must work harder to build a ‘third leg’ to its business. Relying solely on diabetes and obesity therapeutics leaves insufficient room for growth. Diversification into cardiovascular disease or rare diseases is essential.” He was even more direct about M&A: “They absolutely need to acquire something. I don’t believe they possess sufficient internal capability to achieve this alone. Doubling down repeatedly on obesity is not something I support.” Søren Lontoft Hansen, an analyst at Sydbank, highlighted the challenge of convincing the market: Eli Lilly’s intensifying competition, pricing pressure, and the impending semaglutide patent expiry—all three weigh heavily on Novo Nordisk simultaneously. Moreover, some investors are urging the company to break with precedent and disclose concrete medium-term financial targets—AstraZeneca, for instance, has already projected $80 billion in annual revenue by 2030, setting a new benchmark for peers. Analysts and investors share a common expectation: management will signal a stronger commitment to external acquisitions and licensing deals—because internal R&D alone cannot fill the revenue gap left by the patent cliff. For Chinese biotechs, this is an opening window. Novo Nordisk’s urgent need to bolster its pipeline coincides perfectly with the current wave of Chinese metabolic-disease assets seeking overseas partnerships. Hengrui Medicine’s GLP-1 combination therapy has already gone global via a NewCo structure, while Chengyi Biotech’s oral small-molecule GLP-1 candidate has been licensed to AstraZeneca. The more eager the buyer, the better the negotiating leverage for Chinese assets. For Chinese companies holding GLP-1 assets, multi-target programs, or oral small-molecule pipelines, key signals to watch include: Novo Nordisk’s business development needs likely extend well beyond obesity—Manns explicitly cited cardiovascular and rare disease areas as potential targets for its screening list. Companies preparing out-licensing deals should therefore broaden their asset narratives accordingly. Another opportunity lies on the supply side.

Assenagon Asset Management Reduces Stake in Innospec Inc.

Aug 10, 2026

Assenagon Asset Management reduced its stake in Innospec Inc. by 44.4% in Q2, selling 218,102 shares. Despite the reduction, Innospec exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, sustaining positive analyst sentiment.

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