Ricky Sandler’s Eminence Capital’s Top 5 Stocks

In this article, we discuss Ricky Sandler’s Eminence Capital’s top 5 stocks. If you want our detailed analysis of these stocks, go directly to Ricky Sandler’s Eminence Capital’s Top 10 Stocks

At Insider Monkey, we scour multiple sources to uncover the next great investment idea. Lithium prices have more than doubled over the past year, so we are checking out this emerging lithium stock. We go through lists like the 10 best growth stocks to buy to pick the next Tesla that will deliver a 10x return. Even though we recommend positions in only a tiny fraction of the companies we analyze, we check out as many stocks as we can. We read hedge fund investor letters and listen to stock pitches at hedge fund conferences. You can subscribe to our free daily newsletter on our homepage. Now let’s take a look at Eminence Capital’s top 5 stock picks:

5. salesforce.com, inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Eminence Capital’s Stake Value: $246,883,000

Percentage of Eminence Capital’s 13F Portfolio: 3.03%

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 108

salesforce.com, inc. (NYSE:CRM) is a software company that is recognized for its cloud services and CRM solutions. salesforce.com, inc. (NYSE:CRM)’s suite of applications also help clients with marketing automation, customer service, application development, and data analytics, via its one-stop CRM solution, Customer 360. The company aims to enhance integrated collaboration worldwide, and has greatly benefited during the COVID-19 pandemic, when employees began remote work and salesforce.com, inc. (NYSE:CRM) became an integral tool for collaboration and data management. 

Sandler’s Eminence Capital owns roughly 1 million shares in salesforce.com, inc. (NYSE:CRM),  worth $246.88 million, representing 3.03% of Sandler’s Q2 portfolio. 

108 hedge funds were bullish on salesforce.com, inc. (NYSE:CRM), with stakes valued at $11.76 billion at the end of June, as compared to 91 hedge funds in Q1, with stakes worth $8.83 billion. 

On November 1, Morgan Stanley analyst Keith Weiss raised the price target on salesforce.com, inc. (NYSE:CRM) from $345 to $360, and kept an Overweight rating on the stock.

Here is what Polen Capital has to say about salesforce.com, inc. (NYSE:CRM) in its Q3 2021 investor letter:

“Salesforce came under pressure earlier in the year after agreeing to purchase Slack for about $26 billion. Since then, management has articulated well the strategic rationale and integration of Slack into its other software offerings and has demonstrated continued double-digit organic revenue growth within its legacy product offerings. At its recent investor day, the company also outlined long-term growth plans in line with our estimates but probably above what others may have been expecting, especially on margin expansion.”

4. Berry Global Group, Inc. (NYSE:BERY)

Eminence Capital’s Stake Value: $293,662,000

Percentage of Eminence Capital’s 13F Portfolio: 3.61%

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 37

Berry Global Group, Inc. (NYSE:BERY) is a packaging company, focused on engineering unique and protective packaging for products, prioritizing sustainable materials wherever feasible. Berry Global Group, Inc. (NYSE:BERY) provides its packaging solutions to the healthcare, cosmetics, food, beverages, and construction sectors, among others. It is one of the top stocks to buy according to Ricky Sandler’s Eminence Capital. 

At the end of Q2, Eminence Capital held 4.5 million shares in Berry Global Group, Inc. (NYSE:BERY), amounting to $293.66 million, making up 3.61% of the firm’s 13F portfolio. 

On October 12, Mizuho analyst Christopher Parkinson kept a Neutral rating on Berry Global Group, Inc. (NYSE:BERY), with a $70 price target. He stated that Berry Global Group, Inc. (NYSE:BERY) has attractive free cash flow and a strong acquisitions portfolio, but investors will gain more confidence in the stock once they observe organic growth in 2022 and 2023. 

Here is what Rhizome Partners has to say about Berry Global Group, Inc. (NYSE:BERY) in their Q4 2020 investor letter:

“Berry Global is the “Rodney Dangerfield” of value investments. The company recently issued $750mm worth of 2026 debt at 1.57% and used the proceeds to pay down higher coupon debt. The spread between the debt and equity yield is about 10%. Something is mispriced. In 2020, Berry had generated “bond-like” cashflows and had paid down almost $1 billion of debt. The market simply yawned. We keep hearing that institutional investors will not touch Berry until it reduces leverage below 4x EBITDA. Perhaps Berry will work like Griffin in that once they reduce leverage below 4x and starts to show 4-6 quarters of 2% organic growth, the shares may move “violently” to the upside.”

3. Corteva, Inc. (NYSE:CTVA)

Eminence Capital’s Stake Value: $313,175,000

Percentage of Eminence Capital’s 13F Portfolio: 3.85%

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 34

Corteva, Inc. (NYSE:CTVA) is an agri-science company, mastering crop protection technologies to enable farmers to grow crops in a way that is healthier, sustainable, and optimizes profitability. Corteva, Inc. (NYSE:CTVA) offers a range of herbicides, insecticides, and pesticides that benefit the soil, control insects, and nourish the fields for a healthier crop cycle. The company also supplies superior quality seeds which produce better crops. Corteva, Inc. (NYSE:CTVA) is one of the best stocks according to Ricky Sandler’s 13F portfolio for the second quarter. 

Sandler owns 7.06 million shares in Corteva, Inc. (NYSE:CTVA) as of the end of June, worth $313.17 million, accounting for 3.85% of his 13F portfolio. 

At the end of the second quarter, Insider Monkey’s database of elite funds indicated 34 funds that were bullish on Corteva, Inc. (NYSE:CTVA), down from 35 in Q1. 

On October 18, Christopher Kapsch from Loop Capital downgraded Corteva, Inc. (NYSE:CTVA) from Buy to Hold, lowering the price target from $54 to $48. Even though the company’s current initiatives will result in a long-term value addition, short-term problems such as supply chain disruptions and rising raw material costs might impact the performance. 

Here is what Rhizome Partners has to say about Corteva, Inc. (NYSE:CTVA) in its Q1 2021 investor letter:

“We are still getting used to the higher multiples that investors will pay for larger market cap and pure play companies such as Corteva. We do understand the market’s rationale. For example, Corteva operates in a duopoly with Monsanto, owned by Bayer AG, that provides genetically modified seeds and pesticides. With some operating leverage, the company can probably grow FCF at 4-6% a year. This brings the total return close to the long-term return of the S&P 500 index of 10%. Through trial and error, we have come to appreciate how scale, higher market share, route densities, switching costs, and collaborative relationships amongst major industry players can contribute to sustained high returns on invested capital.”

2. New Relic, Inc. (NYSE:NEWR)

Eminence Capital’s Stake Value: $334,015,000

Percentage of Eminence Capital’s 13F Portfolio: 4.10%

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 29

New Relic, Inc. (NYSE:NEWR) is a software company offering a cloud-based platform for enterprise-level collaboration between all departments of an organization. Using DevOps, cloud solutions, and digitally enhancing customer experience, they offer their tech services and platform to several industries, including retail, e-commerce, healthcare, media and entertainment, and the public sector. New Relic, Inc. (NYSE:NEWR) is a top stock in Ricky Sandler’s Q2 portfolio. 

Sandler’s Eminence Capital owns 4.98 million shares valued at approximately $334 million in New Relic, Inc. (NYSE:NEWR), representing 4.10% of Sander’s Q2 portfolio. 

On October 14, RBC Capital analyst Rishi Jaluria kept a Sector Perform rating on New Relic, Inc. (NYSE:NEWR), setting a price target of $74. 

1. Ashland Global Holdings Inc. (NYSE:ASH)

Eminence Capital’s Stake Value: $353,078,000

Percentage of Eminence Capital’s 13F Portfolio: 4.34%

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 28

Ashland Global Holdings Inc. (NYSE:ASH) ranks first on our list of Ricky Sandler’s Eminence Capital’s top 10 stocks. Ashland Global Holdings Inc. (NYSE:ASH) is a materials company that operates on a global scale, serving customers from a wide range of industries such as automotive, construction, energy, food and beverage, personal care, and pharmaceuticals, among others. Ashland Global Holdings Inc. (NYSE:ASH)’s products and services are available across 100 countries. 

Eminence Capital owns over 4 million shares in Ashland Global Holdings Inc. (NYSE:ASH), worth roughly $353 million, representing 4.34% of the firm’s Q2 portfolio. 

Eminence Capital is the leading stakeholder in Ashland Global Holdings Inc. (NYSE:ASH) as of Q2. Overall, 28 hedge funds monitored by Insider Monkey were long Ashland Global Holdings Inc. (NYSE:ASH) at the end of June. 

On October 12, Mizuho analyst Christopher Parkinson kept a Buy rating on Ashland Global Holdings Inc. (NYSE:ASH), with a price target of $116. He believes that investors often tend to ignore the company’s long-term cash flow. 

You can also take a look at Retirement Stock Portfolio: 10 Safe Tech Stocks To Consider and 10 Best Gas Stocks To Buy Now.