Visits: 9
A slew of Wall Street’s top hedge funds managers offered insights into their latest bets on Monday at the annual Sohn San Francisco Investment Conference.
The conference is best known for hedge-fund managers making market-moving presentations, and began this year with Next Wave Sohn, featuring the “next generation of talent” among hedge fund managers.
The Sohn conference held in San Francisco is the West Coast version of the investment conferences that began in New York. The conferences, presented in partnership with CNBC, benefit pediatric cancer and other causes for underserved youth.
Here are some of picks from both the rising stars as well as the seasoned fund managers.
Mark Desio, Lucha Capital Management
Long: Talend (TLND)
Lucha Capital recommended investors buy Talend for its role as an enterprise data company. With data growth set to scale five times over the next five years, Desio said companies like Talend will be essential to help companies and governments manage data volume, sources and models.
The manager said Talend has a disruptive pricing model — priced per user, no data volume tax, scalable and predictable. Desio also highlighted what he views as a great board of directors: “You rarely see this kind of quality of board members” for such a small company, he said.
Desio added that he sees shares rallying to $105 by 2020, arguing that the company could also prove an acquisition target.
Shashin Shah, Think Investments
Long: Radico Khaitan (RADICO-IN – National Stock Exchange of India)
Shashin Shah chose Radico Khaitan as the firm’s stock pick for the Sohn conference. The money manager said the company is extremely well placed on both a product perspective as well as on a balance sheet perspective. The Indian market should provide a huge opportunity for the company since it is geographically largely underpenetrated.
Shah added that the company’s valuation remains attractive, trading at 20 times forward earnings and that the company’s management is focused on creating value for shareholders.
Alex Gleser, TPG Public Equity Partners
Long: Philips (NYSE: PHG-USA, company is headquartered in Amsterdam, Netherlands)
In addition to a strong market position, Philips is capable of mid-single digit organic revenue growth over the next several years, according to Gleser. The manager also said the healthcare technology company’s businesses have several leading market positions, including best or second-best share in personal health and diagnosis and treatment.
Gleser estimates the stock should see 85 percent upside over the next two years with a price target of €58 by December 2020.
Jeff Osher, No Street Capital
Short: Trupanian (TRUP)
This company is a “pet insurance company that is masquerading as a subscription software business,” Osher said.
He added that the company’s gross margin should already be a red flag to sell-side analysts and investors alike, and pointed to multiple flaws at Trupanian. Osher said that less than 20 percent of the company’s territory partners are licensed and that its compensation structure “skirts oversight” with potentially illegal commissions.
Osher said the company has denied that it’s facing regulatory scrutiny, but he thinks there is a high probability that Trupanian is under investigation.
The No Street founder believes Trupanian is set for 50 percent downside over the next one to 24 months.
Michael McLochlin, Highland Capital Management
Long: Marvell Technology Group (MRVL)
Managing director McLochlin believes Marvell’s stock is set to double over the next 12 months based on the success the company has seen in its networking and storage segments. He also said he’s seen positive changes at the company since activist investor Starboard took a stake; more than half of the board and senior management has been replaced.
Highland sees room for growth in Marvell’s solid state drive business, which should more than offset the decline in personal computer and notebook performance. McLochlin expects that the company will generate $3.7 billion in cash in the next three years.