In this article, we discuss the Top 10 Stock Picks of Claar Advisors.
Claar Advisors LLC is an investment management company, which was founded by Gary Claar. From 2001 to 2012, Gary Claar was a founding partner and co-portfolio manager at JANA Partners LLC. This was an investment firm, which made its name in activism and special situation investing. Before founding JANA Partners LLC, Mr. Gary Claar was the founding member of Marathon Advisors LLC, an investment management firm. His career started as a corporate attorney with Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP.
Claar Advisors LLC uses a variety of methods to make sound investment decisions. Its investment strategy uses a combination of fundamental security-level research and experience of investment professionals who work as portfolio managers. The company reviews numerous qualitative and quantitative factors including company’s leadership team, financial statements, outlook, current valuation, position against its peers, etc. Claar Advisors LLC invests in companies having attractive fundamentals and reliable catalysts for appreciation.
Claar Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio appreciated around 0.75% in the second quarter of 2022 against the preceding quarter. At the end of Q2 2022, its portfolio value came at $255.4 million. Its top 10 holdings make up around 61.01% of the total investment portfolio.
At the end of the second quarter, Claar Advisors LLC’s top 10 stock picks included Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG), and Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN).
Our Methodology
At the end of the second quarter, Insider Monkey was tracking the portfolios of 895 hedge funds. We made use of Claar Advisors’ 13F portfolio to assess and analyze the Top 10 Stock Picks of Claar Advisors.
Top 10 Stock Picks of Claar Advisors
10. Nomad Foods Limited (NYSE:NOMD)
Claar Advisors LLC’s Stake Value: $8.79 million
Percentage of Claar Advisors LLC’s 13F Portfolio: 3.44%
No. of Hedge Fund Holders: 23
Nomad Foods Limited (NYSE:NOMD) is a packaged foods company, which manufactures and distributes branded frozen foods in Western Europe. It manufactures and markets frozen food products including fish, vegetables, poultry, and ready meals.
On 10th August, Nomad Foods Limited (NYSE:NOMD) released its Q2 2022 and H1 2022 financial results. While its reported revenue grew 17.0% to €697 million, organic revenue declined 3.2%. The market share of the company was steady in a dynamic pricing environment. It continues to adjust the business well to inflationary pressures and believes that supply chains continue to normalize.
Nomad Foods Limited (NYSE:NOMD) updated its adjusted EPS guidance to a range of €1.65-€1.71 from the previous range of €1.71-€1.75 for FY22, exhibiting high-single digit adjusted EPS growth. It assumes high-single-digit growth in revenue, low-single-digit organic revenue growth, and the inclusion of Fortenova’s frozen food business.
On 15th August, Credit Suisse Group covered Nomad Foods Limited (NYSE:NOMD) and lowered their price objective on shares of the company to $25.00.
Like Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG), and Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), Nomad Foods Limited (NYSE:NOMD) is one of the top 10 stock picks of Claar Advisors.
9. Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)
Claar Advisors LLC’s Stake Value: $10.2 million
Percentage of Claar Advisors LLC’s 13F Portfolio: 4%
No. of Hedge Fund Holders: 137
Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) is a technology company operating in the global payments industry. The company connects consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments, digital partners, businesses, and other organizations worldwide and enables them to use electronic forms of payment.
Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) saw strong revenue and earnings growth in the second quarter of 2022, as overall consumer spending remained strong and cross-border volumes went up by 58% year-over-year. The company’s business model is well-diversified, and it has demonstrated the ability to report strong operating margins through up and down cycles. During the second quarter of 2022, Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) repurchased 6.9 million shares worth $2.4 billion and paid $477 million in the form of dividends.
According to Mastercard SpendingPulseTM, which evaluates in-store and online retail sales across all forms of payment, retail spending in the US, excluding automotive, grew 11.2% year-over-year in July, with retail sales (excluding automotive and gas) rising 9.0%.
JPMorgan Chase & Co. recently covered Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) and lowered its price target from $430.00 to $425.00. This coverage was done on 20th July.
Macquarie analyst Paul Golding also reduced the price objective on the shares of the company to $410 from $440 and maintained “Outperform” rating. The analyst noted that the company delivered strong Q2 2022 results, despite the impact of suspending Russia operations in March.
At the close of Q2 2022, 137 hedge funds held stakes in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA). The total value of these stakes was $14.9 billion. In the preceding quarter, 136 hedge funds held stakes in the company.
Investment management company Ave Maria recently released its second quarter 2022 investor letter and mentioned Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA). Here is what the fund said:
“Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) is a global technology company in the payments industry. Mastercard benefits from the secular migration away from cash to electronic payments and from the recovery in travel.”
8. Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)
Claar Advisors LLC’s Stake Value: $10.4 million
Percentage of Claar Advisors LLC’s 13F Portfolio: 4.09%
No. of Hedge Fund Holders: 41
Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) was incorporated in Delaware in May 1999, and is a global leader in life sciences, diagnostics, and applied chemical markets. The company provides application-focused solutions including instruments, software, services, and consumables for the entire laboratory workflow. The stock ranks 8th on our list of top 10 stock picks of Claar Advisors.
Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) has acquired Polymer Standards Service GmbH (PSS), which is engaged in providing solutions in the field of polymer characterization. As a result of this acquisition, Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) has broadened and extended its product portfolio and customer offerings, primarily in the chemical and biopharmaceutical industries.
In the fiscal year 2022, the company expects revenue of $6.75 billion to $6.775 billion, while Q4 2022 revenue is expected between $1.75 billion to $1.775 billion.
Evercore ISI covered Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A), and increased their price objective on the shares of the company to $145.00 on 22nd August.
Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) saw a decline in hedge fund interest. It was in 41 hedge fund portfolios at the end of Q2 2022. There were 43 hedge funds in our database with the holdings of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) at the end of Q1 2022.
7. Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT)
Claar Advisors LLC’s Stake Value: $11.6 million
Percentage of Claar Advisors LLC’s 13F Portfolio: 4.56%
No. of Hedge Fund Holders: 50
Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT) is the leading provider of online auctions and vehicle remarketing services. Its operations are spread across the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Brazil, the Republic of Ireland, Germany, Finland, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Bahrain, and Spain.
The company has reported financial results for the third quarter of fiscal 2022, with revenues coming at $939.9 million and gross profit at $436.3 million. Recent investments in capital expenditures made by the company exhibit that Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT) is optimistic. Operating cash flow for the third quarter grew $48 million year-over-year to reach $417 million, primarily led by stronger earnings. The company invested $79 million in capital expenditures in the third quarter of fiscal 2022, with more than 80% of this amount going into capacity expansion.
The company’s director Matt Blunt sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock on 6thJune. The transaction was done at an average price of $115.72, resulting in a total value of $1,157,200.00. Analysts at Guggenheim reduced their target objective on shares of Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT) to $151.00 on 20th May.
Hedge funds continue to pile into Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT). At the end of Q2 2022, 50 hedge funds held stakes in the company worth $929.9 million compared to 44 positions in the previous quarter with stakes totaling $864.9 million.
6. Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR)
Claar Advisors LLC’s Stake Value: $12.3 million
Percentage of Claar Advisors LLC’s 13F Portfolio: 4.81%
No. of Hedge Fund Holders: 51
Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR) provides products and services to biopharma, healthcare, education and government, and advanced technologies and applied materials industries.
Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR) has already reported its Q2 2022 financial results, with net sales coming at $1.91 billion, exhibiting 2.8% growth. It saw core organic net sales growth of 6.4%. The results were led by 20%+ core organic growth in bioproduction, highlighting the business model’s strength and resilience. For the second half of 2022, Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR) expects momentum in its core business to continue. A strong order book for its proprietary products gives the company confidence in achieving full-year growth.
On 24th August, Credit Suisse analyst Dan Leonard initiated coverage of the shares of Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR). The analyst gave a “Neutral” rating and a price objective of $32. He has a positive view of the company’s long-term opportunity to scale in the tools industry. However, there are concerns that any growth acceleration will likely take longer than expected.
Our database shows that 51 hedge funds held stakes in Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR) as of the end of the second quarter of 2022, versus 57 funds in the first quarter of 2022.
Like Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG), and Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR) is one of the top 10 stock picks of Claar Advisors.
5. S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)
Claar Advisors LLC’s Stake Value: $14.3 million
Percentage of Claar Advisors LLC’s 13F Portfolio: 5.62%
No. of Hedge Fund Holders: 84
S&P Global Inc. (NYSE: SPGI) provides transparent and independent ratings, benchmarks, analytics, and data to the capital and commodity markets. The capital markets comprise asset managers, investment banks, commercial banks, insurance companies, exchanges, trading firms, and issuers, while commodity markets consist of producers, traders, and intermediaries within energy, metals, petrochemicals, and agriculture.
At the close of Q2 2022, 84 hedge funds were long S&P Global Inc. (NYSE: SPGI) and held stakes worth $7.23 billion in the company.
S&P Global Inc. (NYSE: SPGI) is already out with its Q2 2022 results with reported revenue of $2.99 billion, an increase of 42% year-over-year. Growth was principally due to the inclusion of IHS Markit businesses, partially offset by declines in Ratings revenue.
Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on S&P Global Inc. (NYSE: SPGI) and reduced its price objective from $398.00 to $390.00. They gave an “Overweight” rating on the company’s stock on 3rd August.
Investment management company Ave Maria recently mentioned S&P Global Inc. (NYSE: SPGI) in its second quarter 2022 investor letter. Here is what the fund said:
“S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) is a data-driven financial services company with leading franchises in the areas of data and analytics, credit rating, commodity insights and indices. S&P Global benefits from several secular trends including the disintermediation of banks, a shift to passive investing, and an increased focus on ESG, Climate & Energy Transition.”
4. Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN)
Claar Advisors LLC’s Stake Value: $17.6 million
Percentage of Claar Advisors LLC’s 13F Portfolio: 6.9%
No. of Hedge Fund Holders: 252
Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) is a leading online retailer and one of the highest-grossing e-commerce aggregators. In each of its segments, the company serves its primary customer sets, which consist of consumers, sellers, developers, enterprises, and content creators.
In the second quarter of 2022, the company’s net sales increased 7% to $121.2 billion, compared with $113.1 billion in the second quarter of 2021. In Q3 2022, the company expects its sales to come between $125.0 billion- $130.0 billion, or to grow between 13% and 17% year-over-year.
MKM Partners covered Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) and reduced their price objective on the company’s stock from $180.00 to $165.00 on 25th July.
CFO Brian T. Olsavsky sold off 761 shares of the company’s stock on 23rd May. This was done at an average price of $2,169.22, for a total consideration of $1,650,776.42. As a result of the sale, CFO now owns 2,375 shares in Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), valued at around $5,151,897.50.
Insider Monkey was able to spot 252 hedge funds that were long Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) at the end of Q2 2022. The collective stakes of these hedge funds were $30.07 billion, compared to $48.02 billion a quarter ago with 271 positions.
Alger Capital, an investment management company, mentioned Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) in its second quarter investor letter. Here is what the fund said:
“Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) detracted from portfolio performance in part due to poor operating profit and concerns about future margins. The company disclosed that its first quarter retail revenues increased 3% relative to Q1 2021 due to increased online shopping last year during the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions fueled by direct-to-consumer fiscal stimulus payments. This growth met an estimate from a consensus of analysts at financial services firms, according to FactSet. For the first quarter, however, amazon.com reported $3.7 billion in operating profit versus $5.3 billion anticipated by a consensus estimate. This substantial miss was driven by increased fuel and international shipping expenses, increased staffing due to hiring for employees who were sick with covid-19 and fulfillment center capacity buildout that is now becoming better utilized. These factors resulted in shares of amazon.com underperforming during the second quarter.”
3. American Tower Corporation (NYSE:AMT)
Claar Advisors LLC’s Stake Value: $18.4 million
Percentage of Claar Advisors LLC’s 13F Portfolio: 7.21%
No. of Hedge Fund Holders: 52
American Tower Corporation (NYSE:AMT) is one of the largest global REITs and a leading independent owner, operator, and developer of multitenant communications real estate.
American Tower Corporation (NYSE:AMT) has raised its 2022 outlook for attributable AFFO per share, despite recent foreign exchange rate challenges. Total property revenue of the company is expected between $10,280-$10,460 million. AFFO attributable to the common stockholders per share is expected to come between $9.62-$9.86.
KeyCorp increased its price objective on the shares of American Tower Corporation (NYSE:AMT) from $283.00 to $300.00. They gave an “Overweight” rating on 2nd August.
According to Insider Monkey’s Q2 data, 52 hedge funds held stakes in American Tower Corporation (NYSE:AMT), with combined stakes of $4.37 billion. In the preceding quarter, 50 funds held stakes worth $4.1 billion.
ClearBridge Investments, an investment management firm, published its second quarter 2022 investor letter and mentioned American Tower Corporation (NYSE:AMT). Here is what the fund said:
“The top contributor was our sole real estate holding American Tower (NYSE:AMT), the leading independent wireless tower operator with roughly 221,000 properties globally, including about 43,000 in the U.S., 76,000 in India and 23,000 in Brazil. The company’s business model is to lease space on its towers to predominantly wireless carriers on a long-term basis, generally ranging 5–10 years in duration, with built-in price escalators. This approach results in a stable and predictable cash flow business with high incremental margins — attractive qualities especially in volatile markets like the second quarters.”
2. Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)
Claar Advisors LLC’s Stake Value: $24.7 million
Percentage of Claar Advisors LLC’s 13F Portfolio: 9.69%
No. of Hedge Fund Holders: 153
Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) is a collection of businesses — the largest of which is Google. The company reports these businesses as 2 segments: Google Services and Google Cloud.
In Q2 2022, the company saw revenues of $69.7 billion, exhibiting 13% growth year-over-year. This was mainly due to higher Google Services segment revenues and improvement in Google Cloud segment revenues.
Analysts at Bank of America covered Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) and reduced their price target on the shares of the company from $132.00 to $125.00. They have given a “Buy” rating on the stock on 27th July.
The company’s SVP Prabhakar Raghavan sold 1,109 shares in a transaction on 1st July. This was done at an average price of $2,166.74, for a total consideration of $2,402,914.66. Post this sale, the senior vice president now owns 1,608 shares in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG), valued at around $3,484,117.92.
Among the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey, 153 funds were long Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) in the second quarter of 2022, down from 160 hedge funds in the preceding quarter.
Investment management company, Arch Capital, specifically mentioned Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) in its second quarter 2022 investor letter. Here is what the fund said:
“In May we decided to buy Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) (parent company of Google, YouTube, and Android). Our thesis was simple. Alphabet has billions of locked-in users around the globe with businesses like Search, Maps, and YouTube that should grow in-line or faster than worldwide GDP. With all the cash these businesses generate, management is able to reinvest in Google Cloud, Other Bets projects like Waymo, and return cash to shareholders via share repurchases. At an enterprise value-to-free cash flow (EV/FCF) of around 20 at the time of our purchase, we believe this sets up shareholders for low risk 15%+ returns over the next five years.”
1. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)
Claar Advisors LLC’s Stake Value: $27.1 million
Percentage of Claar Advisors LLC’s 13F Portfolio: 10.64%
No. of Hedge Fund Holders: 258
Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is a technology company. The company develops and licenses consumer and enterprise software. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is known for its Windows operating systems and Office productivity suite.
For FY23, Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) expects revenue and operating income to grow by double-digits. In the first quarter of 2023, the company expects its productivity and business processes segment to deliver revenue of $15.95 billion-$16.25 billion.
On 27th July, Wedbush initiated coverage on Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) and reduced their price objective on the shares of the company from $340.00 to $320.00, giving an “Outperform” rating.
At the close of Q2 2022, Insider Monkey found that 258 hedge funds held stakes in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), down slightly from 259 funds in the previous quarter.
Alger Capital, an investment management company, released its second quarter investor letter and mentioned Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT). Here is what the fund said:
“Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is a positive dynamic change beneficiary of corporate America’s transformative digitization. during a previous earnings call, Microsoft’s CEO estimated that technology spending as a percent of GDP may increase from about 5% today to 10% in 10 years. Microsoft’s enterprise cloud product, Azure, is rapidly growing and accruing market share and its revenues increased 49% during the first three months of this year as the company’s revenue growth approached 20%. Microsoft’s share price declined despite its high unit volume growth as the broad equity market was down due to higher interest rates and slowing economic growth.”
You can also take a peek at Top 10 Video Gaming Stocks To Buy Now and 15 Largest FMCG Companies in the World
Follow Insider Monkey on Twitter
Suggested articles:
- 12 Best IPO Stocks to Invest In Now
- 10 Best Dividend Stocks for Passive Income
- 15 Largest Fast Food Companies Is The World
Disclosure: None. Top 10 Stock Picks of Claar Advisors is originally published on Insider Monkey.
