The Sohn Investment Conference 2024 took place on Wednesday in New York, with a large number of hedge fund managers putting forward their key ideas. Among the stocks mentioned are an e-commerce platform, a semiconductor name and a chemical company outside Europe. The event also features ideas from rising stars in the hedge fund industry. It also included Sohn’s “Winner of the Ideas Competition.” Here are some of the top picks mentioned: Vijay Shilpiekandula, Duquesne Family Office Investment Idea: ASML Vijay Shilpiekandula of Duquesne Family Office, who was named the winner of the Sohn Idea competition, pitched ASML as his best stock idea. The Dutch semiconductor company is an “R&D powerhouse” and a “high-quality company” that looks attractive on an adjusted growth basis relative to its peers, the investor said. One potential future catalyst he’s looking forward to is ASML’s investor day on April 17, where Shilpiekandula expects management comments on opportunities in high-bandwidth memory and generative AI. “What I see as a good opportunity for investors in the market to think about right now is to be creative about the long-term capabilities and long-term earnings potential of this company, based on this gold rush that all these memory makers and big language models are chasing,” Shilpiekandula said. ASML shares are up 29.5% this year. The company beat revenue and profit expectations for the fourth quarter, but said its revenue for this year would be similar to 2023. Jesse Cohn, Elliott Investment Management Investment Idea : Etsy e-commerce platform Etsy is an undervalued company, according to Elliott Investment managing partner Jesse Cohn. His company owns more than 10% of the shares outstanding and, he says, has a “very good business model” because it has proven to be very profitable and extremely cash-generating. While asserting that Etsy is a sustainable business, he noted that Etsy has significantly underperformed the broader market, with the company losing 19.6% year-to-date due to ongoing macroeconomic challenges. in consumer spending since the Covid pandemic. This should, however, be an investment opportunity, according to the activist investor. Etsy “now trades in line with its peers with load and without growth in Internet, e-commerce and traditional retail,” Cohn said. “On a cash flow basis, the stock trades at a discount to Bath & Body Works and Gap. … It is relatively early in its operational and monetization process.” Seth Fischer, Oasis Management Investment Idea: Kao There is an underappreciated buying opportunity in Japanese global chemical company Kao, according to Seth Fischer, founder and CIO of Oasis Management. Kao, the company behind Biore, Curel and other cosmetics brands, has an attractive portfolio of products that have yet to reach their full potential, Fischer said. This can be changed through more comprehensive marketing initiatives, he noted. Japanese stocks are flat for the year, even though the Nikkei 225 is up more than 17%, with the Japanese index hitting new all-time highs this year. “They have great technology and a lot of interesting products, but they still need to translate that into a growth mindset,” Fischer said. “But we think it’s Sleeping Beauty.” David Einhorn, Greenlight Capital Investment Investment Idea: Solvay Greenlight’s David Einhorn revealed Solvay as his top investment idea, saying the European chemical company is a market leader with an attractive valuation. “Solvay is a critical chemical company with the number one position in all of its markets,” Einhorn said. “Although all of these companies are considered commodity companies, they generate higher margins and are much more stable than most chemical companies.” Solvay shares are down more than 3% since the start of the year. Over the past year, they have fallen by more than 70%. Michael Buckley, Duquesne Family Office Investment Idea: Natera Natera, a medical diagnostics company, could benefit from enormous growth potential thanks to the strength of its oncology business, according to Michael Buckley, portfolio manager at Duquesne Family Office. Natera shares are up more than 47% this year. Buckley said the company’s oncology segment, which he believes has the potential to detect cancer in patients earlier than a CT scan, can drive the company’s revenue in the future. Currently, two-thirds of the company’s revenue comes from its women’s health business, he said. Additionally, he expects the company to be able to reach profitability sooner than the Street currently expects. “Not only is it an exciting stock with incredible growth potential, but it is one of the few healthcare companies that can both significantly improve patient outcomes while reducing total system costs “, did he declare. Mohammed Anjarwala, Advent Global Opportunities Investment idea: Carpenter Technology Carpenter Technology is an underappreciated business in the aerospace industry that may also play into the delay in planes from Boeing and Airbus, said Mohammed Anjarwala, managing director of Advent Global Opportunities. “We believe Carpenter is one of the best ways to address the growing aircraft backlog at Boeing and Airbus as they increase their billing rates,” Anjarwala said. Carpenter is a leading supplier of specialty alloys to the aerospace industry, a market with high barriers to entry given the stringent testing requirements for parts, Anjarwala noted. The investor said Carpenter, one of just three suppliers, had about 40 percent of the market. Additionally, the company can benefit from increased travel as global revenues increase. The CEO expects the stock could trade at $200 per share, or a forward P/E of 20 times, about on par with its peers. Currently, it’s trading just above $70 per share, or roughly at a forward P/E of 17 times. The stock is up 3.6% this year. They jumped 3% on Wednesday.
Here are the top investing ideas from the Sohn conference, including a piece on e-commerce
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