In this article, we discuss 5 growth stocks in billionaire George Soros’ portfolio as of the end of the first quarter of 2022. If you want to read our analysis of Soros’ investment strategy amidst the current economic situation, go directly to 10 Growth Stocks in Billionaire George Soros’ Portfolio.
5. Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 63
Soros Fund Management’s Holdings: $39,054,000
Percentage of Soros Fund Management’s Portfolio: 0.59%
Stock Price as of June 30: $192.60
Return since March 31: -13%
Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN) is an Irish-American corporation that provides professional services related to consulting and tax purposes.
Following the company’s Q3 FY22 results, Daniel Perlin at RBC Capital maintained an Overweight rating on Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN) stock with a target price of $357 in an investment note issued on June 24. The analyst noted that Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN) reported another stellar quarter with double-digit growth across all services, and the strong bookings momentum continued. The bookings increased by 10% YoY. However, due to the adverse foreign exchange impact along with the charge related to exiting Russian operations, Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN) was forced to narrow its EPS guidance towards the lower end. Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN) is viewed as one of the best IT services companies that have been able to balance growth via acquisitions and generate healthy capital returns.
Polen Capital shared its stance on Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN) in its Q1 2022 investor letter. Here’s what the firm said:
“Accenture’s business is firing on all cylinders and continue to enjoy an acceleration in their respective fundamentals because of the increase in digitization around the world. Nearly every company today is searching for ways to become more digital, and Accenture is positioned to provide many of the solutions these companies seek. This inflection in fundamentals was not lost on the market, and each business’s stock performed exceptionally well in 2021. In fact, they represented two of the three top absolute performers for the Global Growth Portfolio last year. As a result, its stock is currently more fully priced. As such, we lowered Accenture to an average weight. We maintain high conviction in the business and plan to own it for many years, but recognize the increase in their prices.”
Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN) was held by 63 hedge funds as of Q1 2022.
4. Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 114
Soros Fund Management’s Holdings: $55,904,000
Percentage of Soros Fund Management’s Portfolio: 0.85%
Stock Price as of June 30: $171.46
Return since March 31: -25.7%
Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) is a San Francisco, California-based corporation providing cloud-based leading customer relationship management (CRM), marketing automation, analytics, and application development solutions. Around 150,000 organizations globally employ the services of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM).
Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) claims to be the fastest-growing enterprise software company and aims to reach annual revenue of $50 billion by 2026. The recent sell-off across the tech sector has caused the stock price to crash from $306 to the current level.
During Q1 2022, Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) saw its revenue increase by 24% YoY to $7.41 billion, with an impressive gross profit margin of nearly 73%. However, the operating profit margin was recorded at 0.77%. This was because Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) had an outlay of $4.8 billion on research & development. This strategy has been employed by other tech giants, and it has resulted in healthier profits in the long term.
In its Q1 2022 investor letter, Vulcan Value Partners shared its outlook on Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM). Here’s what the firm said:
“Salesforce.com Inc. is the dominant provider of customer relationship management software and technology. Salesforce has high retention rates, pricing power, high free cash flow, and a competitive moat. The company continues to execute well. Margins decreased slightly during the fourth quarter but continue to be on path for material expansion over the long term. Salesforce is seeing increased spending as employees are returning to the office, and we believe the global pandemic has only improved its prospects.”
Overall, 114 hedge funds reported owning a stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) as of Q1 2022.
3. Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 160
Soros Fund Management’s Holdings: $133,967,000
Percentage of Soros Fund Management’s Portfolio: 2.03%
Stock Price as of June 30: $2,251.43
Return since March 31: -30.7%
Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) is a conglomerate holding company. It is the parent organization of firms like Google, YouTube and other subsidiaries.
Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) is in an expansion mode, as reflected by the company’s increasing advertising revenue which contributed 92.2% to the company’s top-line during FY21. The Mountain View, California-based tech giant, reported significant revenue growth for Google Search and other related services amongst small enterprises. Due to Google Search’s strong performance, Alphabet Inc.’s (NASDAQ:GOOG) revenue saw an increase of 23% YoY to $68.01 billion in the first quarter of 2022.
Moreover, YouTube also has an absolute advantage against its competitors due to the presence of free content and the ability to add multiple advertisements in a single video. Although Google Cloud comes in as the third biggest cloud entity, it is still making constant improvements to provide a better offering to customers and increase its market share.
Here’s what Farrer Wealth Advisors said about Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) in its Q1 2022 investor letter:
“Alphabet: We won’t waste much time trying to explain to our clients why Alphabet is such a phenomenal business, we believe that is quite self-evident. The better explanation is why we never bought Alphabet before. The reason was a personal bias we held based on three beliefs (which we now believe to be incorrect)
Growth in YouTube would stall as the increased ad-load would turn-off viewers (the double ad-load at the beginning of videos for example). Consumers will focus on discovery rather than search to purchase new items. For example – using Instagram/TikTok to decide what new clothes to buy instead of ‘googling’ for clothes. Other Bets: In general, we felt that capital spent on “Other Bets” has been a bit wasteful with the segment earning just around $3.1bn in revenue versus nearly $21bn in operating losses over the last five years…” (Click here to see the full text)
Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) was held by 160 hedge funds as of Q1 2022.
2. Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 271
Soros Fund Management’s Holdings: $362,540,000
Percentage of Soros Fund Management’s Portfolio: 5.51%
Stock Price as of June 30: $107.40
Return since March 31: -38.2%
Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) is a Seattle, Washington-based e-commerce and tech giant.
On June 29, Alex Haissl at Redburn started coverage on Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) stock with a Buy rating and a price target of $270. The analyst thinks that Amazon Web Services (AWS) is worth $3 trillion, which is three times higher than the current market capitalization of Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN). The AWS segment has a cost and technology advantage that is helping the company gain market share. Haissl added that separating AWS from the existing setup is not under discussion right now. However, if the difference between the performance of the AWS and non-AWS segments widens, this proposition can be brought to the table. Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) stock remains a top idea during these uncertain times due to the company’s diversification across various segments.
Weitz Investment Management discussed its outlook on Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) in its Q1 2022 investor letter. Here’s what the firm said:
“Amazon.com’s (NASDAQ:AMZN) stock was down modestly in the quarter, but opportunistic purchases helped the position contribute positively to the Fund. Our index short positions against ETFs tracking market indexes provided helpful ballast during the first quarter drawdown but were otherwise detractors for the fiscal year. During the quarter, we covered roughly 20% of our S&P 500 short and 50% of our Nasdaq 100 short at progressively lower prices. Among our long equities, we added materially to high-conviction holdings Amazon.com.”
As of Q1 2022, Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) was held by 271 hedge funds.
1. Rivian Automotive, Inc. (NASDAQ:RIVN)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 29
Soros Fund Management’s Holdings: $996,549,000
Percentage of Soros Fund Management’s Portfolio: 15.15%
Stock Price as of June 30: $26.99
Return since March 31: -30.5%
Rivian Automotive, Inc. (NASDAQ:RIVN) is an Irvine, California-based EV maker founded in 2009.
On June 27, Vijay Rakesh at Mizuho maintained a Buy rating on Rivian Automotive, Inc. (NASDAQ:RIVN) stock with a target price of $70. The analyst lowered the unit delivery forecasts for Q2 and the second half of 2022 due to supply chain-related challenges and the lockdown in China. However, Rakesh shared that he sees strong demand for electric vehicles despite the ever-increasing cost and long lead times during the second half of this year. The analyst added that the global battery electric vehicle penetration increased from 8% in 2021 to 11.4% in May 2022. Rivian Automotive, Inc. (NASDAQ:RIVN) intends to use the $17 billion in cash wisely so that it can support the 2025 launch of its R2 vehicle platform.
Here’s what Baron Funds said about Rivian Automotive, Inc. (NASDAQ:RIVN) in its Q1 2022 investor letter:
“Rivian Automotive, Inc. designs, manufactures, and sells consumer and commercial electric vehicles. Shares of Rivian continued its volatile trading following the stock’s IPO in late 2021, declining 52% in the first quarter as investors rotated out of fast-growing long-duration stocks and as industrywide supply-chain issues delayed Rivian’s production ramp. In addition, even while other automotive companies raised prices due to inflationary pressures, Rivian launched a price increase campaign that was not well communicated and, as a result, was met with dissatisfaction by existing reservation holders. While this was an unforced error, the company quickly corrected course, reversing its decision to raise prices for existing reservations, while maintaining the increase on new buyers (which has not caused a material impact to demand). We retain conviction in the shares given management’s vision, Rivian’s product positioning, the company’s relationship with Amazon.com, and the company’s strong balance sheet, which will help it overcome the current challenges while taking advantage of the long-term opportunity as the market transitions to electric vehicles.”
Rivian Automotive, Inc. (NASDAQ:RIVN) was held by 29 hedge funds at the end of Q1 2022.
You can also take a peek at 10 Defensive Stocks in Billionaire Ray Dalio’s Latest Portfolio and Top 10 Dividend Stocks to Buy According to James Katz’s Humankind Investments.
