Morgan Stanley’s Highest Conviction Stocks: Top 20 Stocks To Buy

12. Hasbro, Inc. (NASDAQ:HAS)

Share Price Upside: 19%

Number of Hedge Fund Investors In Q2 2024: 27

Hasbro, Inc. (NASDAQ:HAS) is a mid sized American company which provides games and entertainment products for children. Some of its most popular products are well recognized brand names across America such as the Nerf gun, Monopoly, and Transformer toys. These provide Hasbro, Inc. (NASDAQ:HAS) with a distinct advantage over rivals and allow it to retain control of the market. However, the low barriers to entry to its industry due to low technical complexity means that Hasbro, Inc. (NASDAQ:HAS) has to keep releasing new products and developing new ideas if it’s to protect market share from competitors. Additionally, unlike diapers, toys are not an essential item which means that the firm is vulnerable to revenue drops in case the economy slows or enters into a recession. As the economy has been struggling over the past couple of years due to high inflation, Hasbro, Inc. (NASDAQ:HAS) has had to reduce its headcount to satiate investors but has struggled to translate the monetary benefits of the strategies to its bottom line.

ClearBridge Investments mentioned Hasbro, Inc. (NASDAQ:HAS) in its Q4 2023 investor letter. Here is what the firm said:

” Hasbro, which owns global entertainment brands such as Monopoly, My Little Pony and Nerf, has struggled over the past few quarters due to lackluster demand for toys and games in favor of other forms of digital entertainment. Persistent underperformance has undermined our optimism over the company’s legacy businesses, and ultimately led us to exit the stock.”