We recently published a list of 10 Most Promising Small-Cap Stocks According to Hedge Funds. In this article, we are going to take a look at where NCR Voyix Corporation (NYSE:VYX) stands against other most promising small-cap stocks.
Small-Cap Stocks are Expected to Offer Higher Returns in 2025
Small-cap stocks are offering a myriad of opportunities to investors and are expected to go higher. On September 25, Greg Tuorto, Goldman Sachs asset management portfolio manager, appeared in an interview on Yahoo Finance to discuss his thesis on small-cap stocks.
There have been several tailwinds for small-cap stocks, which may have been ignored previously. However, now that the economy is stabilizing, investors may find a variety of undervalued names in the healthcare and technology sectors especially.
Tuorto further added that small-cap stocks have been underperforming for three years, however, in 2024, there is a lot of pent-up opportunity in this area. A year from now, small-cap stocks are expected to deliver unprecedented returns as the economy continues to grow. He expects more IPOs and mergers and acquisitions to come through before 2024 comes to a close.
Nancy Prial, Co-CEO & Senior Portfolio Manager at Essex Investment Management, is also bullish on small caps. We recently covered her views in our article on the 8 Most Undervalued Small-Cap Stocks To Buy According To Analysts. Here’s an excerpt from it:
“Prial noted that small caps have been outperforming in the third quarter, largely driven by expectations of rate cuts, with a 50 basis point reduction being more significant than previously anticipated. She expressed optimism that small caps have substantial room to grow, emphasizing that this could mark the beginning of a multi-year cycle for these stocks. Currently, small-cap stocks are underrepresented in the market, comprising just under 5% of the total equity market, which is at record lows. This low ownership level presents an attractive opportunity for investors.
She pointed out that small-cap stocks remain significantly undervalued compared to their larger counterparts. Prial argued that for small caps to gain traction, several conditions must be met: the continuation of rate cuts, confidence in navigating a soft landing rather than a recession and expanding relative earnings growth. She noted that relative earnings growth for small caps is starting to improve and is expected to surpass that of large caps by the end of the year.”
Biotechs Set to Raise Millions in IPOs
The biotechnology sector is growing rapidly and a large number of startups are expected to go public. On October 7, Reuters reported that three startups are set to raise $400 million in their initial public offerings, amid the sector’s second IPO boom. In September, several drug developers made their market debuts, raising more than $900 million in their IPOs, encouraging other startups to follow suit.
While there is uncertainty around the presidential elections in the United States, biotechnology startups and companies are benefiting from the declining rate cuts. Experts polled by Reuters suggest that biotech companies are of the view that they should exploit the current market momentum rather than wait for presidential elections to normalize the market. However, this also puts immense pressure on other biotech companies to go public as soon as possible.
Our Methodology
To find the most promising small-cap stocks according to hedge funds, we used the Finviz stock screener. We set the market capitalization filter to range between $300 million and $2 billion. We then examined the hedge fund sentiment of these stocks as of Q2 2024 and picked the most popular ones. The stocks are sorted in ascending order of the number of hedge fund holders as of Q2 2024.
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 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points (see more details here).
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NCR Voyix Corporation (NYSE:VYX)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 43
Market Capitalization as of October 10, 2024: $1.97 Billion
NCR Voyix Corporation (NYSE:VYX) is an IT company that offers a cloud-based platform and other solutions to retail stores and restaurants. On average, the company facilitates 26 million transactions per hour and sells 1.2 billion items per month. It has over 75,000 retail lines and more than 30,000 restaurant sites on its platform. Some of its leading customers include Walmart, Target, Circle K, and Fifth Group.
The company made several strategic moves during the second quarter. NCR Voyix Corporation (NYSE:VYX) signed an agreement to sell its digital banking segment to Veritas Capital for $2.45 billion. The deal is expected to close before the end of 2024. NCR Voyix Corporation (NYSE:VYX) also signed an agreement to transition its hardware business to an outsourced design and manufacturing model, Ennoconn Corporation. NCR will continue to sell its hardware products as a sales agent while leveraging Ennoconn’s scale of operations and hardware design expertise.
The company’s go-forward strategy is to acquire new customers and optimize resources. During the second quarter of 2024, 220 new restaurants and 45 new retail customers signed up for NCR’s services. To align with this goal, NCR Voyix Corporation (NYSE:VYX) also established programs to realize cost reductions. During the same quarter, the company eliminated nearly $75 million in annualized labor costs. Once the sale of its digital banking segment is closed, the company will realize an additional $30 million reduction in annual non-payroll cost reduction.
Overall, NCR Voyix Corporation (NYSE:VYX) has experienced rapid growth along with significant cost reductions. The company has strong fundamentals and expects to generate between $3.6 billion to $3.7 billion in revenue for the fiscal year 2024.
ClearBridge Investments’ ClearBridge Mid Cap Strategy stated the following regarding NCR Voyix Corporation (NYSE:VYX) in its first quarter 2024 investor letter:
“Stock selection in the IT sector also weighed on performance. Investor excitement for AI has driven outperformance in hypergrowth companies but weighed on several of our holdings with more conservative outlooks, which are typically appropriate this early in the year. This included NCR Voyix Corporation (NYSE:VYX), which provides software, consulting and technology services for digital commerce and automatic teller machines (ATMs). Under new direction since the spinoff of NCR Atleos in the fourth quarter of 2023, the stock is still looking for solidification of its investor base. However, we are encouraged by the company’s focus on recurring revenue streams, which should allow it to grow at an attractive pace. Additionally, we believe that NCR Voyix’s current valuation is approximately equivalent to the value of its digital banking segment alone, which should merit further upward price movement.”
Overall, VYX ranks 2nd on our list of most promising small-cap stocks according to hedge funds. While we acknowledge the potential of VYX as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than VYX 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.
