Jim Simons’ Portfolio in 2022: Top 5 Stock Picks

In this article, we discuss the top 5 stock picks of Jim Simons’ 2022 portfolio. If you want to read our detailed analysis of Simons’ stock picks and hedge fund history, go directly to Jim Simons’ Portfolio in 2022: Top 10 Stock Picks.

5. Verisign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

Renaissance Technologies’ Stake Value: $893.53 million

Percentage of Renaissance Technologies’ 13F Portfolio: 1.04% 

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 34

Verisign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) deals in the provision of domain name registry and internet infrastructure services. On April 29, Baird analyst Rob Oliver downgraded Verisign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) to ‘Neutral’ from ‘Outperform’, and reduced the price target to $210 from $260. The analyst expects “sudden domain uncertainty” weighing on the shares, as the company lowered its FY2022 estimates owing to a softening of demand after the Covid-related surge in recent months, and an incremental weakness in the macro setup.

Billionaire Jim Simons owned 4.01 million shares of Verisign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) worth $893.5 million in the first quarter of 2022, making him the firm’s second largest shareholder after Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway. Out of all the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey, 34 reported ownership of stakes in Verisign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) at the end of the fourth quarter. This showed a downward trend from the preceding quarter where 40 hedge funds were long on the company shares.

In the first quarter of 2022, Verisign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) beat market estimates on EPS by $0.05. Quarterly revenue of $346.9 million was also above consensus estimates by $3.97 million.

Here is what investment firm Baron Funds had to say about the prospects of Verisign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) in its Q4 2021 investor letter:

“Verisign, Inc. provides internet infrastructure services worldwide and is best known for its exclusive role managing the .com and .net domains, for which it receives annual fees from all those domain owners. Shares of Verisign gained after reporting strong revenue growth and operating margins that exceeded Wall Street forecasts. We continue to be positive on Verisign’s business, based on its strong competitive position, capacity for global growth in domain names, and its ongoing ability to generate substantial free cash flow.”