We recently published a list of 10 Michael Burry Stocks with Huge Upside Potential. In this article, we are going to take a look at where V.F. Corporation (NYSE:VFC) stands against other Michael Burry stocks with huge upside potential.
Michael Burry, founder and manager of Scion Asset Management, is best known for predicting and profiting from the housing bubble’s collapse in the mid-2000s. His bold contrarian bet was famously chronicled in the book and film “The Big Short.” Burry’s investment strategy draws heavily from the rigorous market analysis and principles outlined in Benjamin Graham and David Dodd’s 1934 book “Security Analysis.” The book championed the merits of financial statement analysis, highlighting the importance of intrinsic value and structured investment principles.
That said, Burry has never shied away from putting his own distinct stamp on Wall Street’s time-tested principles. By utilizing complex financial tools, such as derivative securities and short-selling, Burry has amassed a fortune, challenging conventional market wisdom. His 2001 Scion Value Fund letter provides a fascinating insight into his contrarian outlook, which prioritizes long-term value over short-term price fluctuations. Burry makes it clear that to achieve significant long-term returns, he is willing to tolerate short-term volatility. He stated:
“I will always choose the dollar bill carrying a wildly fluctuating discount rather than the dollar bill selling for a quite stable premium.”
He also has no qualms about making significant investments in a few stocks that he believes are undervalued, a tactic the investor employed to strengthen Scion’s holdings at the end of 2024.
In the quarter that ended on December 31, 2024 just before DeepSeek’s artificial intelligence breakthrough sparked a $1.3 trillion surge in Chinese tech stocks, Michael Burry offloaded some of his investments in the country’s tech stocks. The moves came amid a period of high volatility for Chinese stocks, when investors appeared to be losing faith in Beijing following the implementation of a stimulus package in late September. The government’s actions triggered a wild rally until early October, though momentum waned due to a property crisis, a poor economic outlook, and dissatisfaction with the scope of fiscal stimulus in the following months.
Our Methodology
For this article, we examined Scion Asset Management’s Q4 2024 13F filings to list down Michael Burry’s stock picks with the highest upside potential. We ranked the companies in ascending order of their upside potential. These equities are also popular among elite 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).
A model walking down the runway wearing a fashionable and performance-based apparel designed by the company.
V.F. Corporation (NYSE:VFC)
Scion Asset Management’s Q4 Stake: $4.29 million
Analyst Upside as of May 9: 47.93%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 36
V.F. Corporation (NYSE:VFC), formerly known as Vanity Fair, designs, distributes, and markets branded lifestyle footwear, accessories, and clothing. The company operates in three segments: Active, Outdoor, and Work, with brands including Vans, The North Face, and Timberland. It sells primarily to mass merchants, department stores, independently operated partnership stores, national chains, specialized stores, and direct-to-consumer platforms.
On April 30, Wells Fargo analyst Ike Boruchow raised V.F. Corporation (NYSE:VFC)’s shares from Underweight to Equal Weight while lowering the price target to $12 from $18. Boruchow remarked that the bear case for V.F. Corporation seemed to have fully developed. He acknowledged that VF Corp has been one of the worst performers in its industry, but feels that the market has now fully accounted for the delayed recovery of its Vans brand. The analyst mentioned that while there are still worries regarding V.F. Corporation’s balance sheet and free cash flow, the risk/reward profile has become more balanced, leading to a shift to a neutral stance.
Madison Small Cap Fund stated the following regarding V.F. Corporation (NYSE:VFC) in its Q4 2024 investor letter:
“We initiated a new investment position in V.F. Corporation (NYSE:VFC) (~8$b market cap). Formerly known as Vanity Fair, VF is the owner of a portfolio of apparel and footwear brands, namely Vans, The North Face, and Timberlands, which make up the lion’s share of the revenues. VFC is in a special situation with relatively new management, executing a turnaround strategy that we believe is value-maximizing and very shareholder-friendly. The company recently sold one of its portfolio brands, Supreme, for $1.5b and used the proceeds to pay down debt. They’ve reduced costs across the portfolio, including shrinking the Van’s retail business.
Although margins have improved from the recent trough as a result of these actions, there is ample room for expansion, and we believe the portfolio can be further rationalized. We would not be surprised if Timberland gets sold to further de-lever the balance sheet, leaving the company focused on two strong brands that have, we believe, room to grow mostly in international markets but also domestically. We further believe a fully rationalized portfolio with a cleaner balance sheet alongside a recovery in the Vans business could improve the intrinsic value, which we currently estimate to be $28 per share.”
Overall, VFC ranks 2nd on our list of Michael Burry stocks with huge upside potential. While we acknowledge the potential for VFC as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. There is an AI stock that went up since the beginning of 2025, while popular AI stocks lost around 25%. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than VFC but trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.
READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stocks To Buy Now and 30 Best Stocks to Buy Now According to Billionaires.
Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.