olaser Introduction and Thesis I first wrote about Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) in August 2023. Considering that my articles are written with a 5-10 year timeframe in mind, I didn’t anticipate writing a new piece on the company so soon after the first article. However, material developments regarding Exxon’s business that I wasn’t fully aware…
wellesenterprises/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Investment Thesis In our previous analysis, dated October 2023, we confidently issued a buy rating for Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX), anticipating significant value unlocking from its initiative to crack down on password sharing. Seven months ago, we projected a fair price of $503 when trading at $372, based on a thorough…
Palto/iStock via Getty Images Investment Thesis fuboTV Inc. (NYSE:FUBO) was once a high-flying stock with a massive shareholder following. Today, it’s a shadow of its former self. And even though the stock is down significantly from its all-time highs, I argue that not only is this stock not undervalued, but it’s actually likely to sell…
zhengzaishuru Article Thesis Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) is a leading Canadian oil sands company that has an excellent track record and strong management. Thanks to superior cash generation, Canadian Natural Resources has recently achieved its net debt target, which will allow the company to return even more cash to its owners. While the share price…
Alexey_Lesik Note: I have covered Grindrod Shipping Holdings Ltd. (NASDAQ:NASDAQ:GRIN) previously, so investors should view this as an update to my earlier articles on the company. Grindrod Shipping Holdings Ltd. or “Grindrod Shipping” is a medium-sized dry bulk shipping company focused on the smaller, geared vessel classes. In late 2022, major shareholder Taylor Maritime Investments…
scyther5 CEFA: Welcome to CEF Insights, your source for closed-end fund information and education, brought to you by the Closed-End Fund Association. Today we are joined by Axel Merk, President and Chief Investment Officer for Merk Investments. Merk Investments is the investment advisor of ASA Gold and Precious Metals Ltd. (NYSE:ASA). We’re so glad you…
Editor’s note: Seeking Alpha is proud to welcome Bullish Insights as a new contributor. It’s easy to become a Seeking Alpha contributor and earn money for your best investment ideas. Active contributors also get free access to SA Premium. Click here to find out more » Khanchit Khirisutchalual Investment Thesis In today’s dynamic market landscape,…
Get ahead of the market by subscribing to Seeking Alpha’s Stocks to Watch, a preview of key events scheduled for the coming week. The newsletter keeps you informed of the biggest stories set to make headlines, including upcoming IPOs, investor days, earnings reports and conference presentations. The marquee event in the week ahead will be…
monsitj Fellow Shareholders: This “recession,” which has been one of the drivers of capital away from risk assets to perceived safer assets, has been the most fun and awesome one ever. Persistent predictions of a return to arguably more normal interest rates have not led to an economic calamity. Instead, GDP rose 3.1%, wages and…
pcess609 Dear Baron Growth Fund Shareholder: Performance Baron Growth Fund® (the Fund) gained 7.70% (Institutional Shares) for the quarter and 14.97% for the year ended December 31, 2023. This modestly trailed those of the Fund’s primary benchmark, the Russell 2000 Growth Index (the Benchmark), which gained 12.75% for the quarter and 18.66% for the year….
(1) Reflects the actual fees and expenses that were charged when the Funds were partnerships. The predecessor partnerships charged a 20% performance fee (Baron Partners Fund) or a 15% performance fee (Baron Focused Growth Fund) after reaching a certain performance benchmark. If the annual returns for the Funds did not reflect the performance fee for…
Eugene Mymrin/Moment via Getty Images Dear Baron FinTech Fund Shareholder: Performance Table I. Performance† Annualized for periods ended December 31, 2023 Baron FinTech Fund Retail Shares[1],[2] Baron FinTech Fund Institutional Shares1,2 FactSet Global FinTech Index1 S&P 500 Index1 Three Months3 13.82% 13.85% 15.54% 11.69% One Year 26.96% 27.31% 23.34% 26.29% Three Years (0.95)% (0.69)% (7.64)%…
Pakin Jarerndee/iStock via Getty Images DEAR BARON FIFTH AVENUE GROWTH FUND SHAREHOLDER: PERFORMANCE Table I. Performance† Annualized for periods ended December 31, 2023 Baron Fifth Avenue Growth Fund Retail Shares[1],[2] Baron Fifth Avenue Growth Fund Institutional Shares1,2,[3] Russell 1000 Growth Index1 S&P 500 Index1 Three Months4 17.54% 17.61% 14.16% 11.69% One Year 57.20% 57.58% 42.68%…
Photobuay/iStock via Getty Images DEAR BARON OPPORTUNITY FUND SHAREHOLDER: PERFORMANCE During the fourth quarter, Baron Opportunity Fund (MUTF:BIOIX, the Fund) rose 15.10% (Institutional Shares), outperforming the broader market, including the Russell 3000 Growth Index, which gained 14.09%, and the S&P 500 Index (SP500, SPX) , which advanced 11.69%. For the full-year 2023, the Fund increased…
SlobodanMiljevic Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF) provided an outstanding FY23 with superior guidance for eFY24. Despite guiding flat production in eFY24, I believe the firm will experience strong tailwinds as they continue eliminating costs and enhance their hydrogen-reduced steelmaking process. I maintain my previous recommendation for CLF with a BUY recommendation with a price target of $27.65/share. Update…
MicroStockHub Dear Baron International Growth Fund Shareholder: Performance Baron International Growth Fund® (MUTF:BIGFX, BINIX, BWBFX, the Fund) gained 7.78% (Institutional Shares) during the final quarter of 2023, while its primary benchmark index, the MSCI ACWI ex USA Index (the Benchmark), rallied 9.75%. The MSCI ACWI ex USA IMI Growth Index (the Proxy Benchmark) added 10.99%…
Igor Kutyaev/iStock via Getty Images Dear Baron Global Advantage Fund Shareholder Performance Finally… a good quarter. Baron Global Advantage Fund® (the Fund) was up 14.8% (Institutional Shares) during the fourth quarter, compared to the 11.0% gain for the MSCI ACWI Index (the Index) and the 12.7% gain for the MSCI ACWI Growth Index, the Fund’s…
peepo Performance Moderating inflation and softening labor market conditions contributed to both falling interest rates and investors’ growing belief that a hard landing economic recession will be avoided. This optimistic scenario propelled a risk on investor mindset and a strong equity market rally during the quarter. Most sectors closed higher, led by Information Technology (IT),…
utah778 Dear Baron Real Estate Income Fund Shareholder: Performance Baron Real Estate Income Fund® (MUTF:BRIFX, MUTF:BRIIX, MUTF:BRIUX) (the Fund) generated strong performance in 2023, gaining 15.51% (Institutional Shares) for the year ended December 31, 2023. The Fund’s 15.51% gain in 2023 exceeded the performance of the MSCI US REIT Index (the REIT Index), which rose…
Spencer Platt Elevator Pitch I have a Hold rating assigned to Tencent Music Entertainment Group (NYSE:TME) [1698:HK]. My earlier August 18, 2023, update drew attention to TME’s Q2 2023 financial results and its Q3 2023 management guidance. In this latest article, I write about the growth potential of TME’s online music services business and the…
pidjoe Investment Thesis NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) is one of the largest utilities providers in the United States. The firm’s utility, “Florida Power & Light” is the largest in the nation with the firm also developing a worldclass renewable energy business. An attractive market position and good relationship with regulators in Florida allow FPL to act…
Trevor Williams/DigitalVision via Getty Images The Williams Companies (WMB) is an American, Oklahoma based energy company. The company, with a market cap of more than $40 billion, has major natural gas processing and transportation assets. As we’ll see throughout this article, the company’s impressive assets will enable the company to continue driving additional shareholder returns….
Justin Sullivan From one of the ugly ducklings in the software and cloud space, Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) has gradually become one of the best success stories in the space. Not only when it comes to actual business performance, but in terms of shareholder returns as well. Since October of 2020, when I went against the popular…
Wuka/iStock Unreleased via Getty Images Elevator Pitch I still award a Buy investment rating to Panasonic Holdings (OTCPK:PCRFY) (OTCPK:PCRFF) [6752:JP] stock. My previous July 18, 2023 write-up was focused on explaining how Panasonic is leveraging growth opportunities associated with Electric Vehicles and AI. With this latest article, I touch on Panasonic’s capital return in the…
imaginima Surge Energy Inc. (TSX:SGY:CA) (OTCPK:ZPTAF) is long overdue to give their loyal shareholders a bigger slice of the pie. The company has come under fire in previous years for making poor acquisitions and managing debt poorly. The company is about to have Net Debt/EBITDA under 1x for the first time in over 10 years….
Torsten Asmus DEAR BARON FIFTH AVENUE GROWTH FUND SHAREHOLDER: PERFORMANCE Baron Fifth Avenue Growth Fund® (the Fund) lost 3.5% (Institutional Shares) during the third quarter, which compares to losses of 3.1% for the Russell 1000 Growth Index (R1KG) and 3.3% for the S&P 500 Index (SPX), the Fund’s primary and secondary benchmarks, respectively. Year-to-date, the…
Asawin_Klabma/iStock via Getty Images Dear Baron Health Care Fund Shareholder: Performance In the quarter ended September 30, 2023, Baron Health Care Fund® (the Fund) declined 6.05% (Institutional Shares), compared with the 3.88% loss for the Russell 3000 Health Care Index (the Benchmark) and the 3.27% loss for the S&P 500 Index. Year-to-date through September 30,…
Robert Way I am assigning a strong buy rating to Alibaba (NYSE:BABA) stock. Despite trading at its cheapest ever valuation, I will discuss 3 other reasons as to why I am buying Alibaba stock. Alibaba 10 year valuation metrics (Seeking Alpha ) 1. E-Commerce growth rate acceleration The Chinese retail e-commerce industry is expected to…
naphtalina/iStock via Getty Images Investment Summary The carve-out of Embecta Corp. (NASDAQ:EMBC) from Becton, Dickinson (BDX) in April last year has failed to materialize a gain in shareholder wealth, with its equity stock selling at its lowest marks since the new listing. EMBC has diverged from key equity benchmarks and now has >9% short interest…
Vertigo3d Dear Baron Real Estate Fund Shareholder: PERFORMANCE On September 28, 2023, we hosted a client educational webinar, titled “Demystifying Real Estate: An Optimistic Perspective on the Prospects for Real Estate.” A replay of the webinar can be accessed on our Baron website homepage in the “Insights & Reports” section. A sampling of the key…
Darren415 In this article, we provide an update on the PIMCO CEF suite. Specifically, we discuss the changes in leverage and distribution coverage for the month of August. We also highlight the key tidbits from the recently released shareholder report as well as the results of the ARPS tender offer. Coverage Update Coverage across taxable…
J2R We present our note on Eni (NYSE:E), an international oil major, with a Buy rating. We believe Eni offers attractive embedded returns, driven by strong earnings and cash flow growth, underpinned by exploration success and capabilities in gas and LNG. We will provide a brief overview of the company, analyze the key drivers of…
naphtalina/iStock via Getty Images Investment summary Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Corporation (NYSE:ZWS) has exhibited positive growth trends across 2023 following its Elkay acquisition last year. Deeper analysis reveals the economics on this growth hasn’t necessarily added shareholder value. ZWS is a water management pure-play. It boasts an extensive product portfolio with offerings in water safety…
Introduction A group of shareholders of the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) have banded together in the first-of-its-kind activist campaign organized through X (formerly Twitter). Their goal: bringing legal action against Grayscale in an attempt to force them to allow redemptions for customer cryptocurrency held within the trusts it operates and to repay “exorbitant” management fees….
sergeyryzhov/iStock via Getty Images Gray Television (NYSE:GTN) is an Atlanta based company that owns and operates more than a hundred TV stations in 113 markets with a reach of 36% of TV-watching households in the US. The company also creates and owns digital assets to be released on online platforms as an alternative to traditional…
Ergin Yalcin Hilton Grand Vacations (NYSE:HGV) is a timeshare company that engages in the marketing and selling of vacation ownership intervals, as well as the management of resorts in urban destinations. It operates through the Real Estate Sales and Financing, and Resort Operations, and Club Management segments. The company’s performance in Q2 2023 showcases its…
Moussa81 Part I – Introduction Canada-based New Gold Inc. (NYSE:NGD)(TSX:NGD:CA) released its Second-quarter 2023 results on July 26, 2023. Note: This article updates my May 1, 2023 article. I have followed NGD on Seeking Alpha since January 2019. Also, on August 10, 2023, NGD announced that: During regular inspections of the New Afton Tailings Storage…
Dear Fellow Shareholders: Global equity markets continued to advance in the second quarter, despite slower economic growth, stubbornly elevated inflation, the steepest global interest-rate hiking cycle in four decades, and record debt levels. Remarkably, in the wake of the banking turmoil in the U.S. and Europe, animal spirits have reignited, with growth outperforming value by…
Torsten Asmus/iStock via Getty Images Dear Baron New Asia Fund Shareholder: Performance Baron New Asia Fund® (MUTF:BNAFX, MUTF:BNAIX, MUTF:BNAUX) (the Fund) gained 2.09% (Institutional Shares) during the second quarter of 2023, while its primary benchmark index, the MSCI AC Asia ex Japan Index, declined 1.26%. The MSCI AC Asia ex Japan IMI Growth Index declined…
MarsYu/iStock via Getty Images Dear Baron Opportunity Fund Shareholder: Performance During the second quarter, Baron Opportunity Fund® (the Fund) climbed 16.31% (Institutional Shares), outperforming the broader market, including the Russell 3000 Growth Index, which rose 12.47%, and the S&P 500 Index, which gained 8.74%. For the year-to-date and trailing 12-month periods, the Fund is up…
MadamLead/iStock via Getty Images DEAR BARON EMERGING MARKETS FUND SHAREHOLDER: PERFORMANCE Baron Emerging Markets Fund® (the Fund) gained 3.81% (Institutional Shares) during the second quarter of 2023, while its primary benchmark index, the MSCI EM Index, returned 0.90%. The MSCI EM IMI Growth Index gained 0.23% for the quarter. The Fund outperformed both the primary…