US Situation Awareness Fund Delays Taiyo Yuden Disclosure, Cuts 14.64 Million Shares After 60% Plunge
Leopold Aschenbrenner's US-based Situation Awareness fund disclosed Wednesday that it filed its large-shareholding report for Taiyo Yuden a month late, having built a stake of up to 16.61% in July. The stock plunged more than 60% from its July 1 record high, forcing the fund to sell most positions to Citadel at a steep discount, including 14.64 million shares in an off-market trade on August 3 at 9,963 yen. Taiyo Yuden closed up 7.51% Wednesday, still up 193% year-to-date.
Taiyo Yuden closed up 7.51% at the Tokyo market close on Wednesday, leading Nikkei 225 constituents. The US-based Situation Awareness fund, run by "AI stock guru" Leopold Aschenbrenner, disclosed to Japanese regulators on Wednesday that it had increased its stake in Taiyo Yuden last month, at one point holding more than 16% of the company. Under Japanese market rules, investors must file a large-shareholding report within five trading days of exceeding 5%, but the fund filed a month late.
According to the shareholding report, the Situation Awareness fund began building its position in Taiyo Yuden on June 23, buying 1.5-1.6 million shares daily from June 24 to 29, and reached a 5.99% stake on June 29. Taiyo Yuden hit an all-time high on July 1, after which it entered a decline. Trading reports show the fund bought on July 1, then sold more than 3 million shares on July 3 and July 6. As losses widened, the fund kept adding positions from July 9 to July 22, lifting its stake to 16.61%.
By the close of Tokyo trading on July 30, Taiyo Yuden had fallen below 9,000 yen, down more than 60% from its July 1 record high of 24,000 yen. On July 30, facing forced-liquidation pressure, Aschenbrenner sold most of the fund's secondary-market positions to Citadel at 90% of the already halved price. The latest filings show the fund sold about 1.8 million shares on July 28 and 30, and a large off-market trade of 14.64 million shares was executed on August 3 at 9,963 yen per share.
Taiyo Yuden's share price had at one point sextupled this year, and remained up 193% year-to-date as of Wednesday's close. The company said MLCC orders have expanded to unprecedented levels, with the book-to-bill ratio (orders divided by sales) reaching 1.72 in the April-June period, versus 0.95 in the same period in 2025, and the July ratio approaching 2.