Bill Ackman landed his latest buy call with exceptional timing, with stocks gaining close to 3% in a session, just one day after he told the startled public that it’s one of the best times to buy quality stocks.
From the “stupidly cheap” Fannie and Freddie to the “deeply discounted” shares of Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META | META Price Prediction), it certainly does seem like there are bargains galore in the market right now, as the CNN Fear and Greed Index entered the single-digits at the start of the week. Indeed, whenever markets are this oversold, and everyone seems to be running scared, picking up a bargain might be the best course of action.
Ackman is right on the money again
While we won’t know what Ackman was up to in the past few weeks and months until the latest 13F filings come out, I do think that investors don’t need to look any further than the Pershing Square portfolio and the moves made in the fourth quarter of last year. Indeed, there are a number of magnificent stocks that stand out as even better deals today compared to when Ackman and Pershing Square bought in the last quarter of 2025.
I completely agree with Ackman in that it’s a great time to invest in quality. And in this piece, we’ll check in on three magnificent names in the Pershing Square portfolio as of the end of last year. In my view, the names have Ackman’s blessing, and if you can get a shot to score a better cost basis than the investment legend himself, I’d say it’s a shot worth taking, even if it means missing by a mile over the near term.
It’s been a rough patch for Pershing Square so far this year, but Ackman doesn’t sound discouraged in the slightest. And neither should investors, many of whom may wish to shed their fear and start buying the dip.
Meta Platforms
Meta Platforms was the big pick-up for Pershing Square last quarter, and since then, shares have remained under immense pressure. The social-media and AI titan got caught between a pair of legal cases and a vicious market-wide sell-off. Even after rebounding 6.6% in a single session (this goes to show how dangerous it can be to sell in the face of a correction), shares continue to look cheap at 25.9 times trailing price-to-earnings (P/E).
With AI already providing an uplifting effect to real metrics and smart glasses on the way, I certainly wouldn’t bet against Zuckerberg as his firm looks to prove its doubters wrong. Sure, it’s a heavy AI spender, but it’s likely, in my view, to monetize the technology in a big way over the near term. As a recent Ackman buy, I view the stock as one of the better deals in the market today while it’s stuck waiting for a resolution to the Iran crisis.
Amazon
Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) was another notable buy that Pershing Square made last quarter. While the Q4 top-up might not have been well-timed, given how things have gone in 2026, I do think that there’s no reason to give up on the cloud and e-commerce titan, especially as it looks to use AI to automate everything from the shopping process to warehouse work and even doorstep delivery. Indeed, Amazon is the ultimate physical AI play, in my opinion, and Ackman is wise to stay bullish in a moment of weakness.
Though robotics and physical AI could take some number of years to perfect, I think Amazon will, in due time, rise to the occasion. And for that reason, shares look like a steal at 29.0 times trailing P/E.
Alphabet
Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) has been a big winner for Pershing Square, and while Ackman trimmed the stake last quarter, the AI titan remains a big holding for the hedge fund. After gaining more than 5% on Tuesday, I do think that the window to buy the dip in the AI juggernaut could be closing.
With the firm recently pulling the curtain on an impressive lower-cost Veo 3.1 Lite model, I do think that the firm stands to win as the efficiency race in AI models extends. Sure, Google is spending a fortune on data centers, but it’ll probably be proven right for doing so. And at 26.6 times trailing P/E, shares look way too cheap to pass up.
It’s hard to get the timing right with a fast-falling name like Google until it finally ricochets sharply as it did on Tuesday. Despite the huge single-day gain, I still see the mega-cap tech titan as having all the AI tools to become the world’s largest company.
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