Buffett cut Apple, Baron trimmed Tesla: Billionaire market lessons on tech and growth stock selling

Buffett cut Apple, Baron trimmed Tesla: Billionaire market lessons on tech and growth stock selling

If a stock pundit had said at the beginning of 2021 it was time to get out of Tesla and into Exxon Mobil, many investors might have sought another source of market advice. But to an unemotional stock trader, that may have seemed like the right move after growth stocks' massive run into the new year, and a stock market rotation out of large-cap growth that had already gained steam in the fourth quarter of 2020.Tesla shares have been crushed this year, while traditional fossil fuel companies like Exxon Mobil continue to soar off lows hit during the worst of the pandemic, and as oil rebounds on greater economic confidence. The gap between energy stocks and tech stocks is the widest it has been since 2002, while the Nasdaq selling last week, even with Friday's big rebound, basically erased the tech-heavy index's gains for the year. The Nasdaq 100 is now down 1.7% on the year.Warren Buffett loves Apple but trimmed his stake in the fourth quarter. Ron Baron thinks Tesla is headed to $2,000, but sold 1.8 million shares. While it would be a mistake for most individual investors to think their portfolio planning resembles the decision-making of billionaires, or