Top 5 Stock Picks of Roberto Mignone’s Bridger Management

In this article, we discuss the top 5 stock picks of Roberto Mignone’s Bridger Management. If you want to read our detailed analysis of Mignone’s history, investment philosophy, and hedge fund performance, go directly to Top 10 Stock Picks of Roberto Mignone’s Bridger Management.

5. Clarivate Plc (NYSE:CLVT)

Bridger Management’s Stake Value: $30,843,000
Percentage of Bridger Management’s 13F Portfolio: 5.05%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 36

Clarivate Plc (NYSE:CLVT) offers global information, analytics, and workflow solutions. Hedge fund sentiment recently decreased for Clarivate Plc (NYSE:CLVT). The number of long hedge fund positions declined to 36 at the end of the first quarter of 2022, compared to 42 positions in the previous quarter.

Leonard Green & Partners was the leading shareholder of Clarivate Plc (NYSE:CLVT) in Q1 2022, with 116.67 million shares valued at $1.96 billion. Clarivate Plc (NYSE:CLVT) occupied 13.46% of the hedge fund’s total portfolio.

Bridger Management started building its position in Clarivate Plc (NYSE:CLVT) in the first quarter of 2021. Securities filings reveal that the hedge fund increased its stake in Clarivate Plc (NYSE:CLVT) by 16% during the first quarter of 2022. As a result, the fund owned more than 1.84 million shares of Clarivate Plc (NYSE:CLVT), worth over $30.84 million, representing 5.05% of the portfolio.

4. Caesars Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ:CZR)

Bridger Management’s Stake Value: $32,495,000
Percentage of Bridger Management’s 13F Portfolio: 5.32%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 73

Under the Caesars, Harrah’s, Horseshoe, and Eldorado brands, Caesars Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ:CZR) manages casinos and resorts. 73 hedge funds were seen holding stakes in Caesars Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ:CZR) at the end of the first quarter, with a collective value of $1.54 billion. Compared to the previous quarter, when 72 hedge funds were bullish on the business, this demonstrates a rise in investor confidence in the company.

JPMorgan analyst Joseph Greff initiated coverage of Caesars Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ:CZR) on June 21, assigning an Overweight rating to the stock while lowering his price target to $59 from $129. Following Caesars Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ:CZR)’s significant loss, the analyst believes that buy-side investor sentiment is at an all-time low.

Bridger Management reduced its Caesars Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ:CZR) exposure by 2%, or 7,300 shares, in Q1 2022. The hedge fund’s remaining stake of 420,053 shares was worth $32.50 million as of March 31 and accounted for 5.32% of its total portfolio value.

Here is what investment firm Carillon Tower Advisers had to say about the prospects of Caesars Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ:CZR) in its Q4 2021 investor letter:

“Caesars Entertainment, a diversified casino-entertainment and resort company, underperformed in the period as its quarterly earnings update was viewed as disappointing by investors. The firm highlighted a number of one-time headwinds that ultimately weighed on margins, as well as some negative impacts brought on by the surge in COVID cases. Despite this, we believe that the sizeable overall margin improvements Caesars has realized coming out of the pandemic will ultimately prove sustainable in the long run.”

3. Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Bridger Management’s Stake Value: $143,821,000
Percentage of Bridger Management’s 13F Portfolio: 5.36%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 61

The financial services company Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) is situated in New York City and provides brokerage, investment management, and venture capital services. The purchase of American Financial Systems, a supplier of nonqualified executive benefit plan solutions and services, was announced by Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) at Work on June 22.

On May 3, Chris Kotowski, an Oppenheimer analyst, raised Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)’s rating from Perform to Outperform and a price objective of $111. Boykin Curry’s Eagle Capital Management was the leading shareholder of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) during Q1 2022, with a stake comprising 14.13 million shares valued at $1.23 billion, representing a 3% decrease in holding from the previous quarter.

In the first quarter of 2022, 61 hedge funds were bullish on Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) shares, with aggregate holdings worth $3.26 billion. This is compared to 65 hedge funds in the fourth quarter with combined positions worth $4.52 billion in the firm.

Here is what Artisan Partners has to say about Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) in its Q3 2021 investor letter:

“Morgan Stanley, a leading global financial services company, came into the portfolio in late 2020 as a result of its purchase of E*TRADE. The acquisition is a great fit for Morgan Stanley’s wealth management platform and provides a considerable amount of non-interest-bearing deposit funding. James Gorman, chairman and CEO, has steadily de-risked the business by adding less volatile fee streams to complement its leading positions in cyclical businesses such as advisory, equities and FICC (fixed income, currencies and commodities). We believe the company will prove its resiliency and value over the long term.”

2. Uber Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:UBER)

Bridger Management’s Stake Value: $36,265,000
Percentage of Bridger Management’s 13F Portfolio: 5.94%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 144

In the United States, Canada, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific, Uber Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:UBER) develops and manages proprietary technological applications. Bridger Management held more than 1.02 million shares in Uber Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:UBER), worth over $36.27 million. This represented 5.94% of its portfolio.

Fisher Asset Management owned 23.80 million shares of Uber Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:UBER), worth $849.07 million in the first quarter of 2022, making it the firm’s largest shareholder. The hedge fund has increased activity on Uber Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:UBER) stock by 58% in the first quarter of 2022.

On June 9, Eric Sheridan, an analyst with Goldman Sachs, retained a Buy recommendation on Uber Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:UBER) and decreased his price objective to $45 from $55. A harsher macro climate may result from the analyst’s unfavorable prognosis for the food delivery and ridesharing sectors.

Out of all the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey, 144 reported ownership of stakes in Uber Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:UBER) at the end of the first quarter. This showed a downward trend from the preceding quarter, where 153 hedge funds were bullish on the company shares.

In its Q3 2021 investor letter, ClearBridge Investments, an investment management firm, mentioned Uber Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:UBER) and discussed its stance on the firm. Here is what the fund said:

“We have also been looking for multi-year secular trends outside of the IT and Internet sectors to help us maintain a portfolio that can perform well in markets with varied sector or factor leadership. In particular, electrification of the global economy and the transition to electric vehicles (EVs) are areas where we continue to add exposure. We are investing in the brains behind EVs through NXP in the control center and Aptiv for safety features. Global rideshare leader Uber will also be a key player in the transition from internal combustion engines to EVs.”

1. GoDaddy Inc. (NYSE:GDDY)

Bridger Management’s Stake Value: $52,869,000
Percentage of Bridger Management’s 13F Portfolio: 8.67%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 43

Domain name registration and web designing are two services offered by GoDaddy Inc. (NYSE:GDDY). It provides tools for hosting, creating, and securing websites. On June 21, Trevor Young, an analyst at Barclays, maintained an Overweight rating on GoDaddy Inc. (NYSE:GDDY) while lowering his price objective from $118 to $104. The analyst predicted that the market for online tools would be slow until 2022 but said that GoDaddy Inc. (NYSE:GDDY) had the most upbeat outlook of the group.

Hedge fund sentiment was up on GoDaddy Inc. (NYSE:GDDY) stock in the first quarter, where 43 hedge funds reported bullish bets on the company, compared to 41 hedge funds with stakes in GoDaddy Inc. (NYSE:GDDY) in the fourth quarter. In addition, Starboard Value LP was the leading shareholder of GoDaddy Inc. (NYSE:GDDY) in the first quarter, with 8.25 million shares worth $690.56 million, representing a 22% increase in holding over Q4 2021.

Bridger Management has been a long-term GoDaddy Inc. (NYSE:GDDY) investor. However, in the first quarter of 2022, the hedge fund trimmed its stake in GoDaddy Inc. (NYSE:GDDY) by 14%. As a result, Bridger Management owned 631,653 shares of GoDaddy Inc. (NYSE:GDDY) stock valued at about $52.87 million.

Investment firm Canterbury Tollgate discussed GoDaddy Inc. (NYSE:GDDY) in its Q3 2021 investor letter. Here is what the fund has to say:

“GoDaddy (GDDY) in particular sold off after reporting quarterly earnings in early August. Yet they are still growing the top line by more than 10 percent per annum. Short term pain creates opportunity. Presently GDDY trades at a greater than 5.5 percent trailing FCF yield, and a 7.2 percent 2021 yield based on my own (lower than consensus) estimation. Deferred revenue continues to improve. CEO Aman Bhutani and team have done an excellent job rebranding the company. I’m confident they will continue to address challenges along the way and keep GoDaddy on the right path.”

You can also take a peek at Top 10 Stock Picks of Alec Litowitz and Ross Laser’s Magnetar Capital and Top 10 Stock Picks of Andrew Wiener’s Samjo Capital.