5. MicroStrategy Incorporated (NASDAQ:MSTR)
5-year Beta (monthly): 3.11
Average Volume: 11,941,912
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 26
MicroStrategy Incorporated (NASDAQ:MSTR) is a Virginia-based company that focuses on business intelligence (BI), mobile software, and cloud services. Since its inception, it has evolved to deliver innovative solutions for data analysis that allow organizations to use both internal and external information for informed decision-making.
The company is also recognized as a significant player in the cryptocurrency space due to its substantial investments in Bitcoin, which have positioned it as a unique asset holder in the tech industry. By the end of July, the company had 226,500 Bitcoin (1 BTC = $63,314.50 as of September 23).
MicroStrategy (NASDAQ:MSTR) is dedicated to advancing the Bitcoin network through financial market engagement, advocacy, and technological innovation. The company utilizes its cash flows and funds from equity and debt financing to build its Bitcoin reserves, which are the primary focus of its treasury strategy.
MicroStrategy (NASDAQ:MSTR) was quite a successful stock in 2024. By July 11, the company had gained nearly 100% and announced a 10-1 stock split on the date. The split was executed as a stock dividend on August 7 for shareholders of record on August 1.
On September 23, TD Cowen analyst Lance Vitanza raised the price target for MicroStrategy (NASDAQ:MSTR) to $200 from $194 and maintained a Buy rating on the company stock. The revision was followed by the company’s recent successful debt transactions, which allowed it to purchase 7,420 bitcoins for $458 million. In addition to the acquisition, these transactions also helped the company reduce its interest expenses significantly.
Bitcoin makes up most of the company’s value which makes sense that the stock will be volatile as cryptocurrencies are one of the most volatile asset classes in the market. With a 5-year beta of 3.11, the company takes the 5th spot on our list of best stocks for day trading.
In the second quarter, 26 hedge funds had stakes worth $442.244 million in MicroStrategy (NASDAQ:MSTR). With 1.199 million shares worth $165.204 million, Citadel Investment Group is the company’s largest shareholder as of June 30. In Q2, the firm increased its holdings in the company by 75%.
Artisan Partners stated the following regarding MicroStrategy Incorporated (NASDAQ:MSTR) in its first quarter 2024 investor letter:
“Extremely strong returns by two sector constituents, Super Micro Computer and MicroStrategy Incorporated (NASDAQ:MSTR), contributed 393bps (52%) to the index’s return and gave them the largest combined weighting in the index’s history. Regarding MicroStrategy, the company started the year with a 0.6% index weighting and a market value of $10.6 billion and ended the quarter at 1.9% and $28.7 billion. Our decision to avoid this company comes down to a lack of conviction in its franchise characteristics. The stock has worked this year due to a rebound in the price of bitcoin. Since 2020, MicroStrategy has been focused on converting its cash and cash equivalent holdings, as well as issuing debt, to fund the purchase of bitcoin, which now totals ~$15 billion.”
