This article discusses Thomas Bailard’s hedge fund Bailard Inc’s top 5 stock picks at the end of June 2022. If you want to know about Baird Inc’s recent performance, history and its top 10 stock picks, you can go to 10 Best Stocks to Buy According to Thomas Bailard’s Hedge Fund.
5. Visa Inc. (NYSE:V)
Bailard Inc’s Stake Value: $30,273,000
Percentage of Bailard Inc’s 13F Portfolio: 1.19%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders (Q1): 159
Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) got embroiled in controversy on August 2 after hedge fund titan Bill Ackman of Pershing Square critiqued the company on allegations of not forcing Pornhub and its owner MindGeek to remove child pornography from its website.
In an interview with CNBC on the same day, Mr. Ackman blasted Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) by saying:
“Visa made the decision to continue to recognize MindGeek as a merchant, despite its alleged knowledge that MindGeek monetized child porn. MindGeek made the decision to continue monetizing child porn, and there are enough facts pled to suggest that the latter decision depended on the former.”
4. UnitedHealth Group Inc. (NYSE:UNH)
Bailard Inc’s Stake Value: $37,559,000
Percentage of Bailard Inc’s 13F Portfolio: 1.47%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders (Q1): 103
Bailard Inc has been making small changes to its holding UnitedHealth Group Inc. (NYSE:UNH) in the last two quarters. During the quarter ending March 31, the firm bought 1,476 shares of UnitedHealth Group Inc. (NYSE:UNH) increasing its holding by almost 2%. However, during the second quarter Bailard Inc sold 1,908 shares of the company, reducing its holding again by around 2%.
On July 15, UnitedHealth Group Inc. (NYSE:UNH) reported stellar numbers for its second quarter. Its GAAP earnings per share for that period were $5.34 on revenue of $80.33 billion, beating consensus analysts’ estimates by $0.36 and $652.11 million, respectively.
3. Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)
Bailard Inc’s Stake Value: $58,799,000
Percentage of Bailard Inc’s 13F Portfolio: 2.31%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders (Q1): 160
Bailard Inc first reported a stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) in the fourth quarter of 2004, the same year that Alphabet Inc.’s (NASDAQ:GOOG) stock made its debut on the Nasdaq exchange. Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) has been among the most popular companies among the 912 hedge funds we actively track. At the end of the first quarter, 160 hedge funds reported holding the class C stock of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG), and 205 reported holding class A stock.
On July 26, the company reported its second-quarter earnings, following which several analysts changed their price target on the stock. Among them were analysts at Piper Sandler, who lowered their price target on the stock to $135 from $139 while maintaining their ‘Overweight’ rating.
2. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)
Bailard Inc’s Stake Value: $121,619,000
Percentage of Bailard Inc’s 13F Portfolio: 4.78%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders (Q1): 259
Though Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) was the second most popular stock at the end of the first quarter among 912 hedge funds we monitor, the aggregate value of their holdings in the company, worth over $65 billion, was more than $48 billion reported by the 271 funds that held a stake in Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) during the same period.
For its second quarter, Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) reported earnings per share of $2.23 on revenue of $51.87 billion. Analysts on Wall Street had projected the company to report earnings per share of $2.30 on revenue of $52.36 billion for that period.
1. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)
Bailard Inc’s Stake Value: $125,455,000
Percentage of Bailard Inc’s 13F Portfolio: 4.93%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders (Q1): 131
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), the most valuable company in the world, was also Bailard Inc’s top stock pick at the end of June. During the second quarter, Bailard Inc reduced its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by only 2% to 917,608 shares. However, the value of its holding in the smartphone giant declined by more than 20% due to the considerable fall in Apple Inc.’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) stock in that period.
After reporting better than expected second-quarter results last week, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has started its four-part bond sale announced earlier according to Bloomberg. Out of 33 analysts on Wall Street who track the stock, 22 currently have a buy rating on it with an average price target of $179.29.
You can also look at the 7 Best Stocks to Buy According to Stephen Feinberg’s Cerberus Capital Management and Morris Mark’s Mark Asset Management Latest Portfolio: Top 10 Stock Picks.
