We recently published a list of the 12 Best IPO Stocks to Buy in 2025. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Birkenstock Holding plc (NYSE:BIRK) stands against other best IPO stocks to buy in 2025.
On February 25, Hamilton Lane co-CEO Erik Hirsch joined ‘Closing Bell Overtime’ on CNBC to discuss the developments that currently hinder the IPO pipeline. Erik Hirsch noted that there are two competing factors at play. On one side, there is general market uncertainty, which is currently the dominant issue. While on the other side, there are positive factors: many high-quality businesses in private markets are ready for an exit. They are mature, cash flow positive, and growing. The IPO market is the logical conclusion for them, and the public markets need more new names to reduce concentration in a few technology businesses. For the public markets to be healthy, they need fresh blood.
Hirsch believes the IPO market can have a good year without relying solely on software. There is room for more software companies, but there is also interest in traditional non-tech businesses to balance market weightings. He identified sectors that could see growth, such as manufacturing, which could benefit from reshoring and reinvestment in the US. The food supply chain and healthcare are also expected to benefit from administrative changes. Regarding President Trump’s positioning on tariffs, Hirsch thinks it is more about negotiating tactics than actual tariffs. If negotiations cease and tariffs become the focus, there will likely be a market reaction. The uncertainty extends to government job cuts, with questions about the scale of reductions and where displaced workers will go. Despite some positive signs for certain sectors and businesses ready for IPOs, market uncertainty, and regulatory changes are holding back the IPO market and dealmaking. The environment of unpredictability makes it challenging for companies to pursue IPOs or M&A deals at present.
Still, the IPO market holds promise due to a strong backlog of mature and high-quality private businesses eager for public exits.
Our Methodology
We used the Finviz stock screener to compile a list of the top companies that went public in the last 2 years. We then selected 12 stocks with high analysts’ upside potential that were also the most popular among elite hedge funds. The stocks are ranked in ascending order of the number of hedge funds that have stakes in them, as of Q4 2024. The hedge fund data was sourced from Insider Monkey’s database which tracks the moves of over 900 elite money managers.
Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points (see more details here).
A busy store filled with customers shopping for the latest menswear apparel products.
Birkenstock Holding plc (NYSE:BIRK)
Average Upside Potential as of March 21: 60.96%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 43
Birkenstock Holding plc (NYSE:BIRK) manufactures and sells a range of footwear, skincare, and accessory products globally. It’s known for its iconic sandals and utilizes e-commerce, retail stores, and business-to-business channels to reach its customers internationally.
In FQ1 2025, Birkenstock (NYSE:BIRK) reported a 19% revenue increase, which was higher than its 15% to 17% annual growth target. Its growth is driven by expansion beyond traditional sandals, particularly in closed-toe footwear. The closed-toe shoe revenue more than doubled the overall business growth and represented over half of the total revenue in FQ1. The company is also pushing into DTC sales and the APAC region. The APAC region saw a 47% growth in this quarter.
The company’s B2B segment also performed strongly, with a 30% revenue increase. The DTC business grew by 10%, and Birkenstock (NYSE:BIRK) anticipates that this segment will outpace B2B growth in the latter half of 2025 due to new store openings and digital investments. The company is reaffirming its full-year revenue growth target of 15% to 17% now.
Overall, BIRK ranks 6th on our list of the best IPO stocks to buy in 2025. While we acknowledge the growth potential of BIRK, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold great promise for delivering high returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than BIRK but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
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