In this article, we will take a look at the 8 Best Stocks to Buy According to Billionaire Marc Lasry.
Avenue Capital Management is a hedge fund with 39 clients and discretionary assets under management of $7.215 billion. In 1995, Avenue Capital Group’s senior principals, Marc Lasry and Sonia Gardner, established the multinational investment company. The company’s main areas of concentration include distressed debt, exceptional situations investments, and specialty loans in the US, EU, and SEA. Almost all of the senior principals’ and senior portfolio managers’ careers have been devoted to this investment strategy. The firm, which has its headquarters in New York, three offices in Europe, four offices in Asia, a location in Silicon Valley, and an office in Abu Dhabi, is in charge of managing assets valued at about $12.2 billion as of August 31, 2022.
On June 15, Avenue Capital Group LLC CEO Marc Lasry, in an interview with Bloomberg TV, said that the markets have probably not reached their bottom, but that is no excuse not to purchase the dip. Up until the end of the year, Lasry predicted that there would be additional selling and pain. According to Lasry, you should invest as soon as you can because you can never predict when a bottom will occur. In contrast, Lasry anticipates a grimmer future for the cryptocurrency markets, where he has invested through his 2021 investment in BlockTower Capital. This is largely because Bitcoin and other assets have been viewed as such a safe haven that their drop has increased panic. People are “now quite anxious” since “nobody imagined Bitcoin was going to go as low as it has, or Coinbase,” according to Lasry.
Our Methodology
These stocks were picked from the second quarter 2022 13F portfolio of Avenue Capital. We selected the top 8 holdings for Marc Lasry’s Avenue Capital for the second quarter of 2022. The hedge fund sentiment around each stock was taken from Insider Monkey’s Q2 database of 895 elite hedge funds.
8 Best Stocks to Buy According to Billionaire Marc Lasry
08. Exela Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:XELA)
Avenue Capital’s Stake Value: $0.542 million
Percentage of Avenue Capital’s 13F Portfolio: 0.82%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 7
Exela Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:XELA) provides transaction processing solutions, enterprise information management, document management, and digital business process services worldwide. The company is based in Irving, Texas.
Avenue Capital just initiated a stake in Exela Technologies, Inc. during Q2 by acquiring 3,875 of its shares worth roughly $542,000. On August 18, B. Riley analyst Zach Cummins cut his price target for Exela to $2 from $7, but maintained a ‘Neutral’ rating on the stock. According to a research note from Cummins to investors, the company’s Q2 results fell short of forecasts due to a global network outage near the end of June, inflationary pressures, and ongoing labor shortages. The analyst thinks that Exela’s measures regarding its balance sheet will probably harm owners of common equity. The stock has lost 95.84% value year to date. Seven hedge funds are holding a stake in Exela Technologies, Inc. as of Q2, valued at around $2.532 million.
07. Rani Therapeutics Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:RANI)
Avenue Capital’s Stake Value: $0.649 million
Percentage of Avenue Capital’s 13F Portfolio: 0.98%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 2
Rani Therapeutics Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:RANI) is a clinical-stage biotherapeutics business that creates oral biologics. The business was established in 2012, and its main office is in San Jose, California. For a variety of medication treatments, the company is developing the RaniPill robotic drug delivery pill system. A loan of up to $45 million was agreed upon by Rani Therapeutics and Avenue Venture Opportunities Fund on August 8. This money will be used for the ongoing clinical testing of the company’s pharmacological pipeline as well as for developing the RaniPill platform.
On August 12, Rani Therapeutics Holdings, Inc. canceled the planned public offering of its Class A common shares, citing unfavorable market conditions as the main reason. The stock has lost 47.82% value year to date. Rani Therapeutics Holdings, Inc. announced its latest quarterly earnings results on August 10. It reported an EPS GAAP actual of -$0.31 beating estimates by $0.06. However, it missed the revenue target by $130,000. Avenue Capital is holding 62,828 shares of Rani Therapeutics, worth roughly $649,000. The only other hedge fund holding Rani Therapeutics shares out of the 895 hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey is Israel Englander’s Millennium Management holding 111,781 of its shares worth roughly $1.15 million.
06. Forge Global Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:FRGE)
Avenue Capital’s Stake Value: $2.487 million
Percentage of Avenue Capital’s 13F Portfolio: 3.78%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 12
Forge Global Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:FRGE) is a private equity company that provides pre-IPO private company buyers and sellers with listing services. Avenue Capital initiated a stake in the company during Q1, 2022, by acquiring 251,508 of its shares. The stake has remained unchanged during Q2. The stock has lost 64.18% value year to date. The number of hedge funds holding Forge Global Holdings, Inc. shares reduced from 17 in the previous quarter to 12 in the current quarter.
On August 26, Devin Ryan, an analyst with JMP Securities, began covering Forge Global Holdings, Inc. with an Outperform rating and a $10 price target, which represents a potential 200% increase over the current price. Ryan informs investors in a research report that Forge is a top provider of private market exchange data and services. According to the analyst, the company is creating a “highly distinctive, technology-enabled marketplace” that is ideally positioned to profit from “strong secular tailwinds,” fostering the long-term expansion of private markets.
05. Impel Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:IMPL)
Avenue Capital’s Stake Value: $3.806 million
Percentage of Avenue Capital’s 13F Portfolio: 5.79%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 6
Avenue Capital upped its stake in Impel Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:IMPL) by 24% during Q2 holding 408,329 of its shares worth roughly $3.806 million. On August 15, the company released its quarterly results. It reported an EPS of -$1.09 and revenue of $2.80 million, both below the market consensus. Impel Pharmaceuticals Inc. had around $97.8 million in cash and cash equivalents as of June 30, 2022. According to the company’s projected operational strategy, it believes that it has enough money to fund operations through 2024. The stock has lost 25.31% value year to date.
On August 24, Impel Pharmaceuticals Inc. was covered by JonesTrading analyst Sean Kim with a Buy rating and a $26 price target. Kim informs investors in a research note that Impel Pharmaceuticals Inc. is an early commercial stage company with its lead asset Trudhesa in the acute treatment of migraine headaches. By 2030, the analyst projects Trudhesa sales to be close to $500 million. Along with Trudhesa, he views INP105, a treatment for agitation in autism that is currently in Phase 2, as an “incremental, potentially meaningful long-term opportunity for Impel.”
04. Frontier Communications Parent, Inc. (NASDAQ:FYBR)
Avenue Capital’s Stake Value: $8.414 million
Percentage of Avenue Capital’s 13F Portfolio: 12.8%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 42
Frontier Communications Parent, Inc. (NASDAQ:FYBR) is based in Norwalk, Connecticut, and it was founded in 1935. In 25 US states, Frontier Communications Parent, Inc. and its subsidiaries offer communications services to residential and commercial clients. The stock is down 16.89% year to date. In April 2020, Frontier Communications Parent, Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The company emerged from bankruptcy on April 30, 2021. The goal of Frontier Communications Parent, Inc. post-bankruptcy transition is to turn the company from a failing enterprise into a burgeoning fiber internet service provider. Avenue Capital’s stake in Frontier Communications Parent, Inc. remain unchanged during Q2.
On September 9, with a Neutral rating and a $25 price target, Credit Suisse analyst Grant Joslin began following Frontier Communications. Although Joslin believes Frontier’s post-emergence execution credentials are undeniable, the analyst tells investors in a research note that the ability of its fiber build to ultimately create equity value depends on the direction of broadband competition as reflected in gross add share, churn, and pricing, all of which he does not see clarifying anytime soon. Joslin further claims that Frontier Communications Parent, Inc. bleak free cash flow picture and rising leverage are unlikely to draw additional investors in this economic climate.
03. Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA)
Avenue Capital’s Stake Value: $8.473 million
Percentage of Avenue Capital’s 13F Portfolio: 12.89%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 42
A media and entertainment business, Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA) operates internationally. Before changing its name to Paramount Global in February 2022, Paramount Global was known as ViacomCBS Inc. The business was founded in 1986 and is based in New York. For Q2, 2022, Avenue Capital increased its stake in Paramount Global by 24% in Q2, holding 214,606 of its shares worth roughly $8.473 million. As of Q2 2022, 42 of the 895 hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey have positions in Paramount Global, worth $2.58 billion.
On August 5, Bryan Kraft, an analyst at Deutsche Bank, maintained a Buy rating on the shares while lowering his price target for Paramount Global from $35 to $32.
02. Alexander’s, Inc. (NYSE:ALX)
Avenue Capital’s Stake Value: $8.586 million
Percentage of Avenue Capital’s 13F Portfolio: 13.06%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 9
Alexander’s, Inc., a real estate investment trust, owns seven properties in the greater New York City metropolitan area. Year to date, Alexander’s, Inc. lost a 13% value and on September 16, it had a closing price of $231.99.
For the quarter that ended on June 2022, Alexander’s, Inc. reported revenues of $49.82 million, falling short of the consensus estimate by 0.35%.
The stock is a generous dividend payer with a yield of 7.7%, making it an attractive option for income investors. This makes it one of the best stocks to buy now, according to billionaire Marc Lasry. Nine hedge funds held stakes in Alexander’s, Inc. in the second quarter of 2022, with a total stake value of $66.9 million. Of these funds, Frank Brosen’s Taconic Capital was the largest stakeholder in the company, holding 142,300 shares worth $31.6 million.
01. Amplify Energy Corp. (NYSE:AMPY)
Avenue Capital’s Stake Value: $16.751 million
Percentage of Avenue Capital’s 13F Portfolio: 25.49%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 13
Amplify Energy Corp. (NYSE:AMPY) is a company that buys, develops, exploits, and produces oil and natural gas resources in the US. As of December 31, 2021, it had 2,417 gross producing wells and total estimated proved reserves of about 121.2 million barrels of oil equivalent. The company is based in Houston, Texas. The stock has gained 113.5% value year to date.
Out of 895 hedge funds in our database, 13 hedge funds were long Amplify Energy Corp. in the second quarter of 2022. Their total stake value was about $33.5 million. Avenue Capital has maintained a stake in Amplify Energy Corp., comprising a constant number of shares (2.561 million) since Q4, 2019. The stock comprises 25.49% of Avenue Capital’s 13F portfolio.
You can also take a look at 10 High-Yield Dividend Stocks for Stable Income and 10 Dividend Stocks to Buy According to Billionaire Cliff Asness.
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This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
