In this article, we examine Point72 Asset Management’s top 10 Mid-Cap stocks with the highest upside potential.
Steven Cohen has established himself as a leading figure in the hedge fund industry. His career began with the founding of S.A.C. Capital Advisors in 1992. In 2014, he transitioned his investments to Point72 Asset Management, where he serves as Chairman and CEO. Point72 leverages Cohen’s expertise in active trading while integrating cutting-edge advancements in technology, data analytics, and artificial intelligence, positioning itself at the forefront of modern finance. The firm employs a discretionary investment approach across multiple strategies, including long/short equities, global macroeconomic investing, systematic trading, and venture capital & growth equity. As of January 1, 2025, Point72 manages approximately $36.9 billion in assets and has a workforce of 2,800 employees worldwide. The firm has a good performance history, with the fund’s top 50 stocks boasting a three-year annualized return of 14.47%.
The U.S. economy plays a pivotal role in shaping the stock market and hedge fund performance, with macroeconomic trends influencing investor sentiment, capital flows, and risk management strategies. The current economic uncertainty facing the US economy continues to worry investors. Last week, according to the National Bureau of Economic Research, the US economy’s GDP for the first quarter of 2025 contracted by 0.3%, a sharp contrast to the previous quarter’s 2.4% growth. While a recession is officially confirmed only after consecutive quarters of negative GDP growth, many market analysts caution that the economy is on the brink of one.
Economic data released over the past few days provided some clarity to investors. Investor sentiment was boosted by Friday’s employment data, which showed the U.S. unemployment rate holding steady at 4.2%, suggesting that the labour market remains resilient despite growing macroeconomic headwinds. This week, the Federal Open Market Committee voted unanimously to maintain the Fed rate between 4.25% to 4.5%. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell reassured investors that the central bank is prepared to wait for greater clarity before adjusting interest rates, citing persistent uncertainty stemming from President Trump’s escalating tariff agenda.
Given the heightened volatility, investors focus on a balanced portfolio to mitigate risks. In the long run, hedge funds thrive on inefficiencies, volatility, and sector rotations, adjusting their portfolios to exploit divergences between economic fundamentals and market behaviour. As the U.S. economy evolves, hedge funds continuously recalibrate their strategies to align with changing market conditions and investor expectations. This strategy is applied by Point72 Asset Management through its discretionary investment approach to give higher returns to its shareholders.
One approach to achieving a balanced portfolio is through mid-cap stocks, which offer a compelling blend of growth potential and relative stability. Unlike large corporations, mid-cap companies are often more agile in adapting to shifting economic conditions, enabling them to foster innovation and expansion at a faster pace. Mid-Cap stocks are past the uncertainty associated with early-stage start-ups, thus offering ample room for growth and higher returns compared to large-cap companies, which tend to have slower growth trajectories. Mid-cap companies also have the potential to evolve into large-cap firms over time, allowing investors to benefit from significant capital appreciation. According to S&P Global, the mid-cap S&P index has consistently outperformed the large-cap broader index since 1994, delivering an annualized return of 12% compared to the latter’s 11%.
Given this, we will take a look at some of the best mid-cap stocks in billionaire Steve Cohen’s portfolio.
Steven Cohen of Point72 Asset Management
Our Methodology
For this article, we examined Point 72’s Q4 2024 13F filings to identify billionaire Steve Cohen’s 10 Mid-Cap stock picks with huge upside potential. Our focus was on stock with a market cap ranging between $10 billion and up to $40 billion. We then picked stocks that had the best upside potential, based on analyst rankings.
At Insider Monkey, we are obsessed with hedge funds. Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points (see more details here).
10. Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR)
Upside Potential: 5.93%
Market Cap: $36.39 billion
Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) is a Fortune 500 integrated energy company with over a century of operation, serving approximately 3 million customers across Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas. The company’s extensive infrastructure supports a diverse power generation portfolio, boasting around 24,000 megawatts from sources like natural gas, nuclear, coal, oil, and hydroelectric power. Notably, its fleet of nuclear reactors contributes approximately 5,000 megawatts of clean, carbon-free energy to its grid.
This established operational strength was reflected in Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR)’s financial performance during the first quarter of 2025, which demonstrated a solid start to the year. In the latest earnings report, management revealed revenue of $2.85 billion (an increase of 1.87% YoY) and an EPS of $0.82. This positive outcome was driven by several key factors, including higher retail sales volume, the impact of weather conditions, favorable regulatory developments across its operating companies, and a reduction in other operational and maintenance expenses.
Looking forward, Entergy Corporation’s (NYSE:ETR) management has highlighted significant catalysts for future growth in its sales volume. It announced three substantial new customer projects poised to considerably increase energy demand. These include the Hyundai Motor Group’s $5.8 billion steel facility, CF Industries’ $4 billion ammonia plant, and Woodside’s $17.5 billion LNG facility. Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) has also secured regulatory approval for critical projects, including a significant $0.5 billion West Bank transmission project and the development of a combined cycle gas plant in Mississippi, both strategically aimed at addressing anticipated demand growth within its service territories.
Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) is a new holding by Point72 Asset Management, with over 3 million shares, valued at $243. million at the time of writing this article, representing 0.53% of the fund’s portfolio.
9. EQT Corporation (NYSE:EQT)
Upside Potential: 9.01%
Market Cap: $31.04 billion
EQT Corporation (NYSE:EQT) was originally founded nearly 140 years ago under the name of Equitable Resources Inc., formerly changing its name to EQT Corporation (NYSE:EQT) in 2009. The company is engaged primarily in the production, gathering, and transmission of natural gas to marketers and industrial customers, located in the Appalachian Basin.
EQT Corporation (NYSE:EQT) reported robust financial performance with revenue in the first quarter of 2025 at $1.74 billion, up by 23.20% on a year-on-year basis. The company also surpassed analysts’ estimates for EPS by $0.17 at $1.18. CEO Toby Rice attributed its performance to improved synergies within the company, as a result of collaborative efforts between the upstream and downstream teams. Building on this momentum, EQT also announced during the latest earnings call that it had acquired Olympus Energy’s upstream and midstream assets for $1.8 billion. This strategic acquisition is expected to bolster the company’s regional dominance and enhance its vertical integration, positioning EQT as an even stronger player in the natural gas industry.
In terms of future outlook, the majority of analysts following the company have a positive outlook on the company, with a consensus of the average twelve-month trading price of $56.31 (an upside of 9.01%). At the end of Q4 2024, Point72 Asset Management has over 4 million shares in EQT at a value of $185.7 million, representing 0.40% of the fund’s portfolio.