George Soros Stock Portfolio: Top 5 Large-Cap Stock Picks

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1. Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 116

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM), an American provider of customer relationship management technology, is one of the top large-cap picks from the George Soros stock portfolio. The hedge fund strengthened its hold on Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 139% in Q2 2022, with 627,509 shares worth $103.5 million, representing 1.84% of the total 13F portfolio. Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) stock climbed on October 18 as activist Jeff Smith’s Starboard Value took up a “significant” stake in the company.

Piper Sandler analyst Brent Bracelin on October 20 maintained an Overweight rating on Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) but lowered the firm’s price target on the shares to $175 from $200. “Software valuations might be nearing a bottom, but fundamentals are not,” the analyst wrote in a research note. He sees multiple factors that could further challenge billings, revenue, and free cash growth estimates into 2023, and he “proactively” trimmed growth assumptions and targets across software “to better reflect these elevated near-term risks.”

According to Insider Monkey’s Q2 data, 116 hedge funds were bullish on Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM), compared to 114 funds in the prior quarter. Harris Associates is a significant stakeholder of the company, with more than 5 million shares valued at $829 million.

Here is what Cooper Investors Global Equities Fund has to say about Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) in its Q3 2022 investor letter:

“It seems unfashionable to discuss technology stocks given the current market mood, but we are observing positive signs from US software companies in terms of their journey along the ‘HubrisHumility’ cycle. We have trimmed and concentrated our software exposure significantly over the last 18 months down to two cloud-native SAAS players, Workday and Salesforce. We met with both businesses during our trip and came away encouraged from language indicating increased focus on profitability and cost control.

We see significant optionality in these businesses to grow at the same time as expanding margins and free cash flow. The discussions increased our conviction that returns on capital are now becoming a priority for CEOs and CFOs in this sector who are talking for the first time about cost discipline, reduced capex, more measured hiring practices, a reduction in the level of stock-based compensation and scaled back M&A ambitions. Salesforce in a recent earnings update announced its first ever buyback for US$10bn…” (Click here to see the full text)

Follow Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

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