In this article, we discuss the 5 stocks to consider in the portfolio of Oprah Winfrey. If you want to read our detailed analysis of these stocks, go directly to Oprah Winfrey Stock Portfolio: 10 Companies To Consider.
5. Chegg, Inc. (NYSE:CHGG)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 38
One of the biggest achievements of Oprah’s stellar career has been the establishment of the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy, a school for young girls in South Africa that features top-of-the-line facilities. Oprah herself takes a remote class at the school, offering her expertise to young girls who aspire to achieve more. Chegg, Inc. (NYSE:CHGG), a California-based student learning platform, also offers similar educational services online.
Chegg, Inc. (NYSE:CHGG) aims to make quality education more accessible to children around the world, just like the South African academy. According to reports, Oprah invested close to $40 million in the school over seven years before it opened.
Among the hedge funds being tracked by Insider Monkey, London-based investment firm Polar Capital is a leading shareholder in Chegg, Inc. (NYSE:CHGG) with 1.4 million shares worth more than $117 million.
In its Q2 2021 investor letter, Alger, an asset management firm, highlighted a few stocks and Chegg, Inc. (NYSE:CHGG) was one of them. Here is what the fund said:
“Chegg, Inc. was among the top detractors from performance. Chegg provides online textbook rentals and other internet delivered services, such as homework help, tutoring and assistance with obtaining scholarships and finding internships. The company has been acquiring customers at low cost, in part because it is a leader in providing supplementary educational services to college students. Its Chegg Services offering helps students master subjects, get better grades, graduate and pursue careers. After posting a very strong 2020, the stock has experienced a general pullback based on the market perception that Chegg was simply a “Covid-19 beneficiary” and now with a reopening economy will experience weakness. We believe, however, that the company’s recent inroads to previously untapped international markets and new controls on shared password/account access are positive developments for Chegg.”
4. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:DISCA)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 44
Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:DISCA) features on our list of companies to consider based on the portfolio of Oprah Winfrey because it is reported that Oprah sold some of her stake in the Oprah Winfrey Network, a cable channel she owns, in late 2020 to Discovery in a deal rumored to be around $35 million that included stock options. Discovery is one of the biggest media firms in the world and has a market cap of over $16 billion.
In August, Deutsche Bank analyst Bryan Kraft maintained a Buy rating on Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:DISCA) stock but lowered the price target to $40 from $55, forecasting lower domestic revenue for the firm and problems with subscriber growth in the near-term.
Among the hedge funds being tracked by Insider Monkey, New York-based investment firm DE Shaw is a leading shareholder in Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:DISCA) with 5.6 million shares worth more than $165 million.
In its Q1 2021 investor letter, Mayar Capital, an asset management firm, highlighted a few stocks and Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:DISCA) was one of them. Here is what the fund said:
“We also sold most of our holdings in Discovery as the stock price continued to increase to new highs. However, in late March the stock declined considerably when brokers liquidated holdings by Archegos Capital (see above in General Commentary) to satisfy margin calls. That brought the stock price down to levels that we found attractive, and we bought back a significant amount of the shares that we had sold earlier that month.”
3. Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 84
One of the earliest business ventures of Oprah Winfrey was Oxygen Media, a media project she co-founded in 1998 that focused on content for women and children. The company grew progressively over the years, increasing presence on cable television and also the internet. In 2007, NBC Universal, now owned by Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA), a leading media technology firm, purchased Oxygen Media for $925 million.
Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA) has grown over the years and is presently perhaps the biggest media company in the world with a market capitalization of more than $240 billion. It is expanding into the internet streaming domain too.
Among the hedge funds being tracked by Insider Monkey, New York-based firm Eagle Capital Management is a leading shareholder in Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA) with 29 million shares worth more than $1.6 billion.
In its Q1 2021 investor letter, Nelson Capital Management, an asset management firm, highlighted a few stocks and Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA) was one of them. Here is what the fund said:
“Comcast is the Largest cable provider in the U.S. and is the dominant internet access provider in the markets it serves. Though Comcast will likely see further declines in cable subscriptions due to ongoing cord-cutting, it should be able to off set that lost revenue by growing internet access customers and instituting higher pricing. The pandemic has increased the importance of a fast internet connection, with more content streaming to homes at increasingly higher quality. Comcast made significant upgrades early on, allowing it to quickly deploy new technology and increase speeds to meet the evolving needs of its customers.”
2. Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 113
Oprah owns her own production house, called Harpo Productions, that operates as a media and entertainment firm. Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX), the premier streaming service in the world, runs a similar business but is focused on the internet. In contrast, Harpo Productions was initially invested in all media domains. It ran the Oprah Winfrey TV Network, printed O, The Oprah Magazine, and also had interests in radio and the film business.
Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX), after building a solid streaming business, has plans to expand as well, especially in the video game and film production domains. It has been dedicating a large part of the budget to these two ventures over the past few months.
Among the hedge funds being tracked by Insider Monkey, Chicago-based firm Citadel Investment Group is a leading shareholder in Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) with 4.6 million shares worth more than $2.4 billion.
In its Q1 2021 investor letter, Polen Capital, an asset management firm, highlighted a few stocks and Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) was one of them. Here is what the fund said:
“We purchased Netflix in March, initiating a 3% position in the Portfolio. We believe Netflix is a highly competitively advantaged company. It has recently met all our investment guardrails, and we anticipate it will remain sustainably above our guardrails over the next five years and beyond. We know Netflix for its ubiquitous streaming service and deep library of owned content. The company has made investments in this content (currently running at nearly $20 billion/year), generally keeping subscribers highly engaged and loyal to their service. The company has number one market share in 99% of markets globally, but it is our view that video streaming on-demand is still an underpenetrated space with many years of attractive growth likely ahead. The service is also relatively affordable at roughly $11/month on average globally.
We believe Netflix’s growth in content spend is beginning to moderate, which could allow margin expansion to continue for many years when paired with ongoing subscriber growth and price increases. While there is competition from the likes of Apple (Apple TV+), Amazon (Prime Video), Disney (Disney+ and Hulu), and others, we believe there can be a handful of winners in this industry. Already, we see many people subscribe to multiple streaming video services, with Netflix being their “anchor” service. That said, the barriers to entry are high, and we believe they are getting higher given the substantial amount of capital and size of the subscriber base required to maintain a competitive service for both viewers and content producers. Over the next five years, we expect Netflix’s earnings growth to be approximately 30% annualized and free cash flow to grow at an even higher rate.”
1. Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 190
Just as YouTube, the video-sharing platform owned by Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL), was really taking off, Oprah contributed to a $1.7 million funding round for Waywire, a New York-based internet platform targeted at young people that would feature original content from members that users could watch and share for free. The startup was the brainchild of Cory Booker, a US politician and tech guru.
In 2013, Waywire was sold to Magnify, a video distributor, in a mostly-stock deal. Since then, Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) has enjoyed unrivaled success in the content creation domain in the short-form video space on the internet through YouTube.
At the end of the second quarter of 2021, 190 hedge funds in the database of Insider Monkey held stakes worth $26 billion in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL), up from 185 in the preceding quarter worth $24 billion.
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