In this article, we will look at 5 best international stocks to invest in. If you want to explore similar stocks, you can take a look at 10 Best International Stocks to Invest In.
5. BioNTech SE (NASDAQ:BNTX)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 29
BioNTech SE (NASDAQ:BNTX) is a leading European biotechnology company based in Germany. The company develops and manufactures active immunotherapies for cancer and other infectious diseases. On July 19, Pfizer (PFE) and BioNTech SE (NASDAQ:BNTX) and Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) announced that they have successfully submitted an Omicron-adapted bivalent COVID-19 vaccine candidate, for individuals 12 years of age and older, to the European Medicines Agency.
On July 27, BioNTech SE (NASDAQ:BNTX) announced that it is working with Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) on a randomized, active-controlled, observer-blind Phase 2 study to evaluate the safety, tolerability, and immune response of an enhanced COVID-19 mRNA-based vaccine candidate at a 30 microgram dose level. Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) and BioNTech SE (NASDAQ:BNTX) plan to evaluate this next-generation COVID-19 vaccine candidate as part of their efforts to develop a long-term, effective, and robust COVID-19 vaccine.
The market sentiment around BioNTech SE (NASDAQ:BNTX) is positive, and the stock is also trading at bargain levels. On July 13, SVB Securities analyst Daina Graybosch maintained her price target of $223 on BioNTech SE (NASDAQ:BNTX) and upgraded the stock to Outperform from Market Perform. As of August 3, BioNTech SE (NASDAQ:BNTX) has a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.53.
Hedge funds are initiating positions in BioNTech SE (NASDAQ:BNTX). At the end of the first quarter of 2022, 29 hedge funds were eager on BioNTech SE (NASDAQ:BNTX) with stakes worth $409.02 million in the company. This is compared to 27 positions in the previous quarter with stakes worth $644.54 million.
As of March 31, D E Shaw owns over 0.6 million shares of BioNTech SE (NASDAQ:BNTX) and is the largest shareholder in the company. The fund raised its stakes by 114% in the company in Q1 2022, bringing them to $102.96 million.
4. Shell Plc (NYSE:SHEL)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 37
Shell Plc (NYSE:SHEL) is a British multinational oil and gas company headquartered in London, England. At the close of Q1 2022, 37 hedge funds were long Shell Plc (NYSE:SHEL) and held stakes worth $5.63 billion, This is compared to 41 positions in the previous quarter with stakes worth $2.63 billion.
On July 28, Shell Plc (NYSE:SHEL) reported market-beating earnings for the fiscal second quarter of 2022. The company reported earnings per share of $3.08 and beat EPS estimates by $0.28. The company’s revenue came in at $100.06 billion, up 65.35% year over year, and outperformed Wall Street consensus by $17.76 billion.
Shortly after its earnings release, Shell Plc (NYSE:SHEL) declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.50 per ADS share. The dividend is payable on September 19 to investors of record at the close of business on August 12. As of August 3, the stock has a forward dividend yield of 3.82% and trailing twelve-month free cash flows of $35.86 billion.
Wall Street is bullish on Shell Plc (NYSE:SHEL). On July 29, RBC Capital analyst Biraj Borkhataria raised his price target on Shell Plc (NYSE:SHEL) to 3,200 GBP from 3,100 GBP and reiterated an Outperform rating on the shares. On August 1, Berenberg revised its price target on Shell Plc (NYSE:SHEL) to EUR 31.50 from EUR 33 and maintained a Buy rating on the shares.
As of March 31, Fisher Asset Management owns roughly 19.6 million shares of Shell Plc (NYSE:SHEL) and is the largest shareholder in the company. The fund’s stakes were valued at $1.07 billion.
Here is what Harding Loevner had to say about Shell Plc (NYSE:SHEL) in its “International Small Companies Equity Fund” first-quarter 2022 investor letter:
“While risks of unforeseen consequences arising from the Ukraine conflict are high, on this front we are cautiously optimistic that China will work hard to maintain its neutrality in a credible way, as it is a huge beneficiary of trade with the rest of the world, especially the rich developed nations. We think it likely that China, along with India, will continue to buy oil and gas from Russia (just as Europe, at least for now, plans to keep its gas pipelines open), and do not expect that fact to alter China’s trade relations with the West much. Nevertheless, we must contemplate that our optimism is misplaced on the importance of membership in the global network of exchange. If our central and optimistic case—admittedly an educated guess—is wrong, then we’d need to greatly modify our views of which companies in our opportunity set will face new barriers to profitable growth, and which might stand to benefit, relatively, from a further receding of globalization. (Global trade, after all, has never matched the peak share of GDP it reached in 2008, before the Global Financial Crisis.) We’d expect such a world to be less efficient, as the cold logic of comparative advantage is demoted as a determinant of which goods or services are produced and where. That would lead to a less prosperous world, since exploiting comparative advantage is a cornerstone of wealth creation. If regional blocs began to raise limits on the movement of capital as well as goods, we’d need to parse which of our multi-national companies were at risk of declining sales from increasingly hostile, siloed countries. Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE:SHEL) has found its Siberian oil and gas joint venture assets stranded by the combination of sanctions and the public opprobrium of Russia’s actions.”
3. ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 46
ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML) is a leading European semiconductor equipment manufacturer that develops, produces, sells, and services advanced semiconductor equipment systems consisting of lithography, metrology, and inspection-related systems for memory and logic chipmakers. The company operates in Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, China, Europe, the United States, and the rest of Asia. The company was founded in 1984 and is headquartered in the Netherlands.
On July 20, ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML) released its earnings for the fiscal second quarter of 2022. The company reported a revenue of $5.53 billion for the quarter, up 16.52% year over year, and outperformed Wall Street estimates by $143.77 million. The company reported earnings per share of $3.60 and beat EPS expectations by $0.06.
Shortly after its earnings release, ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML) announced that its board of directors have declared a quarterly cash dividend of €1.37 per share, payable on August 12. The company revised its dividend policy to maintain consistency of its dividend growth in 2021 and said it plans to provide dividends to shareholders on a quarterly basis. In 2021, ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML) declared an aggregate annual dividend of €5.50 per share. As of August 3, the stock has a forward dividend yield of 1.09% and free cash flows of $9.20 billion.
This July, Credit Suisse analyst Adithya Metuku revised his price target on ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML) to EUR 920 from EUR 960 and reiterated a buy-side Outperform rating on the shares. On July 21, Deutsche Bank analyst Robert Sanders raised his price target on ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML) to EUR 525 from EUR 475 and maintained a Hold rating on the shares.
At the close of Q1 2022, 46 hedge funds were long ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML) and held stakes worth $5.04 billion in the company. This is compared to 40 positions in the previous quarter with stakes worth $5.59 billion.
As of March 31, Fisher Asset Management owns more than 4.44 million shares of ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML) and is the largest shareholder in the company. The fund’s stakes were valued at $2.96 billion, which covers 1.75% of Ken Fisher’s 13F portfolio.
Here is what ClearBridge Investments had to say about ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML) in its “International Growth ADR Strategy” first-quarter 2022 investor letter:
“During the quarter, we reduced our semiconductor exposure through the trim of ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) to manage concerns of a slowdown due to the risk of double ordering and potential softness in some consumer end markets. We increased our position in IT services with the purchase of Accenture as we remain optimistic about the long-term growth potential these companies provide, which is underpinned by the compressed digital transformation cycle, rising cloud adoption and growth in data-driven insights.
Despite the market volatility and hyper focus on rising rates, chief information officer surveys continue to forecast resilience in IT budgets this year. Growth in IT spending for 2022 is expected to remain above the 10-year pre-COVID-19 average, according to Morgan Stanley. We believe this is a result of the strong secular underpinnings brought on by digital transformation and businesses focusing on increasing efficiencies through technology.”
2. Linde plc (NYSE:LIN)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 54
Linde plc (NYSE:LIN) operates as an industrial gas and engineering company in North and South America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. The company offers atmospheric gases, including oxygen, nitrogen, argon, and rare gases; and process gases, such as carbon dioxide, helium, hydrogen, electronic gases, specialty gases, and acetylene. Wall Street is bullish on Linde plc (NYSE:LIN). On August 2, Deutsche Bank analyst David Begleiter reiterated a Buy rating on the stock after adjusting his price target to EUR 350 from EUR 352.
On July 25, Linde plc (NYSE:LIN) declared a quarterly cash dividend of $1.17 per share of the company’s common stock. The dividend is payable on September 16 to shareholders of record on September 2. As of August 3, the stock has a forward dividend yield of 1.56% and trailing twelve-month free cash flows of $6.86 billion.
On July 28, Linde plc (NYSE:LIN) released earnings for the fiscal second quarter of 2022. The company reported earnings per share of $3.10 and beat EPS estimates by $0.14. The company’s revenue for the quarter came in at $8.46 billion, up 11.51% year over year, and outperformed market consensus by $66.23 million. Linde plc (NYSE:LIN) also raised its full-year guidance and announced that it sees adjusted EPS for fiscal year 2022 in a range between $11.73 and $11.93, up 10% to 12% from its prior guidance of between $11.65 and $11.90.
As of June 30, Impax Asset Management owns more than 2.9 million shares of Linde plc (NYSE:LIN) and is the largest shareholder in the company.
At the end of Q1 2022, 54 hedge funds held stakes in Linde plc (NYSE:LIN). The total value of these stakes amounted to $4.81 billion, up from $4.62 billion in the preceding quarter with 45 positions. The hedge fund sentiment for the stock is positive.
1. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (NYSE:TSM)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 81
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (NYSE:TSM) manufactures, packages, tests, and sells integrated circuits and other semiconductor devices in Taiwan, China, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Japan, the United States, and internationally. The company is a pioneer and leader in its industry and recently announced that it is developing InFO_3D technology for processing mobile device chips. As chips become slimmer and lighter, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (NYSE:TSM) is ahead of its competition to enhance its 3DFabric portfolio and remain customers’ go-to semiconductor solutions company.
On June 21, Loop Capital analyst Charles Park initiated coverage of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (NYSE:TSM) with a Buy rating and a NT$600 price target. Park is bullish on the company because of its industry-leading position and expects it to drive growth from emerging technologies such as 5G, IoT, AI, and Cloud. On July 12, Citi analyst Roland Shu reiterated his Buy rating and NT$570 price target on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (NYSE:TSM). Shu is bullish on the Taiwanese semiconductor company because of its position in the high-performance computing market.
As of March 31, Fisher Asset Management owns more than 26.18 million shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (NYSE:TSM) which amounts to a stake of $2.73 billion. Fisher Asset Management is the most prominent shareholder in the company.
At the end of Q1 2022, 81 hedge funds were bullish on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (NYSE:TSM) and held stakes worth $10.15 billion in the company. This is compared to 72 positions in Q4 2021 with stakes worth $10.99 billion.
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