The Sohn Investment Conference in New York kicked off Monday with hedge fund managers’ picks moving markets.
Sohn is the most widely anticipated hedge fund event of the year, where managers volunteer their time and best investment ideas to raise money in the fight against childhood cancer. This year, the conference began with Next Wave Sohn, featuring the “next generation of talent” among hedge fund managers.
The picks from these rising stars are below.
Alexander Captain, Cat Rock Capital
Long Takeaway.com (AMS: TKWY – Amsterdam)
Takeaway.com is “the most attractive online food delivery company,” he said. “It is well on its way to become the dominant player in Germany.”
Captain said the company is a market leader in Europe. He said the global online food delivery market is just $50 billion per year inside the $2.8 trillion annual spending at restaurants.
Shares were 1 percent higher in late-day trading local time.
Tim Garry, Pelorus Jack Capital
Bearish on growth and momentum stocks
There is “soon to be a price momentum beta factor crash,” Garry said. “Growth stocks will get crushed.”
The hedge fund manager cited how assets flooded into “risk parity” and volatility compression strategies since 2013, which will now likely reverse. About 90 percent of daily volume is traded by systematic managers such as passive index funds and ETFs that do not do any fundamental analysis, he said. The investor noted how Nasdaq 100 volatility is rising since February this year.
Rashmi Kwatra, Sixteenth Street Capital
Long BRAC Bank (Bangladesh bank)
BRAC is “the best way to play the Bangladesh growth story,” she said. “It is the leader in mobile payments.”
Kwatra said Bangladesh’s economy has grown 6 percent annually over the last 10 years with 73 percent of its 163 million population under the age of 40. The investor said only 31 percent of the country has a bank account, providing a big penetration growth opportunity for BRAC Bank.
Oleg Nodelman, EcoR1 Capital
Long Ascendis Pharma (ASND)
Nodelman is optimistic over the clinical stage biopharma company’s drug treatment for growth hormone deficiency, TransCon, which is better than current offerings in the market.
Ascendis’ “lead asset will be on the market in two years and is worth twice its current market cap,” he said.
Shares rose fractionally in morning trade. Nodelman put a fair value target price on the company of $289, which would be a more than 350 percent gain from the current level.
Please check back for updates
