Big Pension Exits Palantir Stake. It Sold AT&T, and Bought Intel and Nvidia Stock.

PSP Investments, as the pension is known, disclosed the stock trades, among others, in a form it filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Montreal-based PSP Investments, which oversees public-sector pension plans of the federal Public Service, the Canadian Forces, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and the Canadian Forces (Reserve Force), declined to comment on the investment changes. It manages about $180 billion in assets, making it the 25th largest public pension in the world, according to the Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute.

Palantir stock rocketed 150% in the first nine months of this year, and shares are up 11% so far in the fourth quarter. For comparison, the
S&P 500 index
rose 12% in the first nine months and has gained 7.4% so far in the fourth quarter.

In the third quarter, PSP Investments sold all the 111,432 Palantir shares it had owned at the end of June. Palantir has reported strong earnings this year, bolstered by growing demand for its artificial-intelligence platform.

AT&T stock was weak earlier this year, falling 18% in the first nine months of the year. A Wall Street Journal investigation published in early July showed that legacy lead-sheathed cables belonging to AT&T and other telecoms were a hidden source of lead contamination.

AT&T and its peers said they don’t believe cables in their ownership are a public-health hazard or a major contributor to environmental lead, considering other sources of lead. AT&T stock tumbled, and within a few weeks analysts were suggesting that the selloff was overdone. So far in the fourth quarter, AT&T stock has gained 13%.

PSP Investments sold 360,747 AT&T shares to end the third quarter with 765,781 shares.

The pension bought 840,614 more Intel shares in the third quarter to lift its investment to 1.5 million shares of the chip maker. Intel stock rose 35% in the first nine months of the year, and shares are up 20% so far in the fourth quarter.

Intel CEO Patrick Gelsinger has been buying up stock on the open market in 2023. Quarterly earnings reports have been strong, bolstering the shares. Intel stock is soaring, but nowhere near that of Nvidia’s, we noted.

Nvidia stock nearly tripled in the first nine months of this year, and shares are up 9.2% so far in the fourth quarter.

Nvidia has been riding the AI wave, and its chips continue to feed the flames. We think Nvidia will continue to release the best AI chips faster than rivals. The company is working with the U.S. government to ensure its next chips will be allowed to be exported to China, in the face of restrictions the U.S. has put on chip sales to that country.

PSP Investments bought 128,491 more Nvidia shares to end the third quarter with 656,780 shares.

Inside Scoop is a regular Barron’s feature covering stock transactions by corporate executives and board members—so-called insiders—as well as large shareholders, politicians, and other prominent figures. Due to their insider status, these investors are required to disclose stock trades with the Securities and Exchange Commission or other regulatory groups.

Write to Ed Lin at edward.lin@barrons.com and follow @BarronsEdLin.