Latest news with #CliffAsness'
CNBC
01-07-2025
- Business
- CNBC
Cliff Asness' AQR sees multiple hedge funds up double digits in 2025, beating the market
AQR Capital Management took advantage of a volatile first half of 2025, with a duo of hedge funds doubling the S&P 500's return. The Apex strategy from Cliff Asness' firm, which combines stocks, macro and arbitrage trades and has $4.3 billion in assets under management, rallied 11.4% in the first six months of the year, according to a person familiar with AQR's returns who asked to be anonymous as the information is private. AQR's long-short Delphi equity fund, with $4.1 billion in assets under management, gained 11.6% net of fees in the first half of 2025, the person said. The stock market staged a stunning rebound this year even as uncertainty remains amid an aggressive trade war and Middle East escalation. The S&P 500 has rebounded from a near 20% sell-off in April, going on to score a new record high on Friday and again on Monday. The equity benchmark is up 5.3% year to date. AQR's alternative trend-following Helix strategy has returned 7.4% so far this year, the person said. Asness co-founded AQR in 1998 after a stint at Goldman Sachs. He and his partners established the quant-driven firm's investment philosophy at the University of Chicago's Ph.D. program, focusing on value and momentum strategies. The firm has successfully expanded into multistrategy approaches in recent years. AQR has $142 billion in assets under management, up from about $99 billion at the start of 2024. AQR declined to comment.
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Broadcom Inc. (AVGO): Among Billionaire Cliff Asness' Stock Picks with Huge Upside Potential
We recently published a list of . In this article, we are going to take a look at where Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) stands against other billionaire Cliff Asness' stock picks with huge upside potential. Cliff Asness, the founder, managing principal, and chief investment officer of AQR Capital Management, is a well-known figure in the world of finance. Starting with a $10 million commitment from a small group of investors in 1995, Asness was able to boost the Goldman Sachs Global Alpha Fund's assets to more than $100 million in just a handful of months. Cliff Asness' investment strategies, which focus on value and momentum, have delivered exceptional returns for AQR, setting him apart from his fellow hedge fund managers. As a testament, the fund has produced positive returns over the last three years, with its greatest year in 2022, when it returned 43.5%. The first quarter of 2025 continued that momentum. As Wall Street grappled with increased volatility resulting from President Donald Trump's unpredictable tariff policy, AQR Capital Management outperformed the market by 9%. The firm's Apex strategy, a $3 billion multi-strategy fund that includes equities, macro, and arbitrage trades, rose 3.4% in March, adding to its strong quarterly performance. Meanwhile, AQR's Delphi Long-Short Equity Strategy returned 9.7%, while its trend-following Helix strategy gained 3% during the same period. Cliff Asness has repeatedly stated that he is not an admirer of Bitcoin. In a recent CNBC interview, the hedge fund manager voiced pessimism about Bitcoin, claiming that it had no realistic use case, although he did not rule out the possibility that the leading cryptocurrency has formed a bubble. Back in February, the billionaire stated that Bitcoin and the S&P 500, were basically 'the same thing' with varying amounts of volatility. Asness has also questioned the notion that Bitcoin must be seen as a store of value simply because it has a limited supply. The billionaire seemed even more critical of the idea of a cryptocurrency reserve, a stance that sharply contrasts with President Donald Trump's. In a piece written for The Free Press, the money manager stated his thoughts about the President's executive order: 'I've been managing money for 33 years now with some modest success. While there are some worthy competitors, it's hard for me to remember a much worse idea than the U.S. launching a 'strategic cryptocurrency reserve.' Nevertheless, on Thursday, President Donald Trump issued an executive order calling for just such a fund. David Sacks—Trump's crypto czar—tweeted that the reserve would be 'like a digital Fort Knox,' perhaps forgetting that the U.S. has been off the gold standard since 1933. In any case, his words do not diminish my scorn for this dangerous boondoggle, as I will explain below. For this article, we examined AQR Capital Management's Q4 2024 13F filings to list down billionaire Cliff Asness' stock picks with the highest upside potential. We ranked the companies in ascending order of their upside potential. These equities are also popular among elite hedge funds. 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 (). A technician working at a magnified microscope, developing a new integrated Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) is a global technology company with a strong presence in hardware and software. The company's primary focus is on networking and custom chips for various applications. In the first quarter of 2025, Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO)'s Semiconductor Solutions revenue climbed by 11% year-over-year, mainly due to a 77% growth in AI revenue. This AI revenue is expected to rise by 44% in the second quarter as hyperscale clients spend heavily on next-generation AI models. Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) announced on April 7 that it was starting a new buyback program of up to $10 billion that would continue until the end of the year, sending its shares up about 3% in extended trading. CEO Hock Tan stated that the move indicates confidence in the company's semiconductor and infrastructure software franchises, notably its leadership in artificial intelligence-related projects. Renaissance Large Cap Growth Strategy stated the following regarding Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) in its Q4 2024 investor letter: 'Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) was another large contributor in the quarter after reporting solid operating results. The company presented an optimistic outlook, driven by its dominant position in artificial intelligence application-specific chipsets. In addition, the company should continue to benefit from its leading position in several end markets including data centers and cloud infrastructure, which have favorable secular growth trends. Broadcom is also seeing margin expansion and improved visibility, as the mix of software revenues increases, following the acquisition of VMWare.' Overall, AVGO ranks 9th on our list of billionaire Cliff Asness' stock picks with huge upside potential. While we acknowledge the potential for AVGO as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. There is an AI stock that went up since the beginning of 2025, while popular AI stocks lost around 25%. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than AVGO but trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about this . READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stocks To Buy Now and 30 Best Stocks to Buy Now According to Billionaires. Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Centene Corporation (CNC): Among Billionaire Cliff Asness' Stock Picks with Huge Upside Potential
We recently published a list of . In this article, we are going to take a look at where Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) stands against other billionaire Cliff Asness' stock picks with huge upside potential. Cliff Asness, the founder, managing principal, and chief investment officer of AQR Capital Management, is a well-known figure in the world of finance. Starting with a $10 million commitment from a small group of investors in 1995, Asness was able to boost the Goldman Sachs Global Alpha Fund's assets to more than $100 million in just a handful of months. Cliff Asness' investment strategies, which focus on value and momentum, have delivered exceptional returns for AQR, setting him apart from his fellow hedge fund managers. As a testament, the fund has produced positive returns over the last three years, with its greatest year in 2022, when it returned 43.5%. The first quarter of 2025 continued that momentum. As Wall Street grappled with increased volatility resulting from President Donald Trump's unpredictable tariff policy, AQR Capital Management outperformed the market by 9%. The firm's Apex strategy, a $3 billion multi-strategy fund that includes equities, macro, and arbitrage trades, rose 3.4% in March, adding to its strong quarterly performance. Meanwhile, AQR's Delphi Long-Short Equity Strategy returned 9.7%, while its trend-following Helix strategy gained 3% during the same period. Cliff Asness has repeatedly stated that he is not an admirer of Bitcoin. In a recent CNBC interview, the hedge fund manager voiced pessimism about Bitcoin, claiming that it had no realistic use case, although he did not rule out the possibility that the leading cryptocurrency has formed a bubble. Back in February, the billionaire stated that Bitcoin and the S&P 500, were basically 'the same thing' with varying amounts of volatility. Asness has also questioned the notion that Bitcoin must be seen as a store of value simply because it has a limited supply. The billionaire seemed even more critical of the idea of a cryptocurrency reserve, a stance that sharply contrasts with President Donald Trump's. In a piece written for The Free Press, the money manager stated his thoughts about the President's executive order: 'I've been managing money for 33 years now with some modest success. While there are some worthy competitors, it's hard for me to remember a much worse idea than the U.S. launching a 'strategic cryptocurrency reserve.' Nevertheless, on Thursday, President Donald Trump issued an executive order calling for just such a fund. David Sacks—Trump's crypto czar—tweeted that the reserve would be 'like a digital Fort Knox,' perhaps forgetting that the U.S. has been off the gold standard since 1933. In any case, his words do not diminish my scorn for this dangerous boondoggle, as I will explain below. For this article, we examined AQR Capital Management's Q4 2024 13F filings to list down billionaire Cliff Asness' stock picks with the highest upside potential. We ranked the companies in ascending order of their upside potential. These equities are also popular among elite hedge funds. 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 (). A doctor holding a clipboard in a hospital ward, discussing patient treatment plan with the Corporation (NYSE:CNC), headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, is a managed care company that serves as a middleman between government-sponsored and privately insured healthcare programs. The firm primarily serves the Medicaid market, with a sizable proportion of its membership coming from programs like as the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). On April 9, Guggenheim Securities began coverage of Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) with a neutral rating. The firm's analyst noted the healthcare company's continued advantages from its scale and expertise in government-related sectors as positive aspects. Centene's recent disposal of around 11 non-core assets, as well as the disposal of its pharmaceutical benefits management (PBM) services arm, were cited as strategic actions that could lead to additional opportunities. Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) announced quarterly earnings of $2.90 per share in the first quarter of 2025, above the average expectation of $2.52 per share and up from $2.26 per share the previous year. Centene assigned its strong first-quarter profitability to a considerable increase in Obamacare enrollment, which drove membership and revenue growth. Overall, CNC ranks 8th on our list of billionaire Cliff Asness' stock picks with huge upside potential. While we acknowledge the potential for CNC as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. There is an AI stock that went up since the beginning of 2025, while popular AI stocks lost around 25%. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than CNC but trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about this . READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stocks To Buy Now and 30 Best Stocks to Buy Now According to Billionaires. Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey. Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Synchrony Financial (SYF): Among Billionaire Cliff Asness' Stock Picks with Huge Upside Potential
We recently published a list of . In this article, we are going to take a look at where Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) stands against other billionaire Cliff Asness' stock picks with huge upside potential. Cliff Asness, the founder, managing principal, and chief investment officer of AQR Capital Management, is a well-known figure in the world of finance. Starting with a $10 million commitment from a small group of investors in 1995, Asness was able to boost the Goldman Sachs Global Alpha Fund's assets to more than $100 million in just a handful of months. Cliff Asness' investment strategies, which focus on value and momentum, have delivered exceptional returns for AQR, setting him apart from his fellow hedge fund managers. As a testament, the fund has produced positive returns over the last three years, with its greatest year in 2022, when it returned 43.5%. The first quarter of 2025 continued that momentum. As Wall Street grappled with increased volatility resulting from President Donald Trump's unpredictable tariff policy, AQR Capital Management outperformed the market by 9%. The firm's Apex strategy, a $3 billion multi-strategy fund that includes equities, macro, and arbitrage trades, rose 3.4% in March, adding to its strong quarterly performance. Meanwhile, AQR's Delphi Long-Short Equity Strategy returned 9.7%, while its trend-following Helix strategy gained 3% during the same period. Cliff Asness has repeatedly stated that he is not an admirer of Bitcoin. In a recent CNBC interview, the hedge fund manager voiced pessimism about Bitcoin, claiming that it had no realistic use case, although he did not rule out the possibility that the leading cryptocurrency has formed a bubble. Back in February, the billionaire stated that Bitcoin and the S&P 500, were basically 'the same thing' with varying amounts of volatility. Asness has also questioned the notion that Bitcoin must be seen as a store of value simply because it has a limited supply. The billionaire seemed even more critical of the idea of a cryptocurrency reserve, a stance that sharply contrasts with President Donald Trump's. In a piece written for The Free Press, the money manager stated his thoughts about the President's executive order: 'I've been managing money for 33 years now with some modest success. While there are some worthy competitors, it's hard for me to remember a much worse idea than the U.S. launching a 'strategic cryptocurrency reserve.' Nevertheless, on Thursday, President Donald Trump issued an executive order calling for just such a fund. David Sacks—Trump's crypto czar—tweeted that the reserve would be 'like a digital Fort Knox,' perhaps forgetting that the U.S. has been off the gold standard since 1933. In any case, his words do not diminish my scorn for this dangerous boondoggle, as I will explain below. For this article, we examined AQR Capital Management's Q4 2024 13F filings to list down billionaire Cliff Asness' stock picks with the highest upside potential. We ranked the companies in ascending order of their upside potential. These equities are also popular among elite hedge funds. 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 (). A banker handing a certificate of deposit to a customer in a bank Financial (NYSE:SYF) is a consumer finance company that provides credit cards, installment loans, and commercial financing. The company also offers private label and co-branded credit cards, as well as banking services. Earlier this March, BofA Securities reiterated its Buy rating and $85 price target for Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) shares. The endorsement comes amid debate over the long-term viability of some mitigating activities in light of anticipated regulatory changes. The firm's analysts have expressed confidence in the company's business strategy, implying that even if the era of 'over earning' ends earlier than expected, the valuation continues to be appealing. On April 22, Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) reported mixed results for the first quarter of 2025. The company's average active accounts increased 3% year-over-year to 69 million, while purchasing volume jumped 4% to $41 billion and loan receivables increased 2% to $100 billion. However, the company's financial results indicated major strain on profitability. Diluted earnings per share declined 40% year-over-year to $1.89, while return on assets came in at 2.5%. Additionally, net revenue fell by 23%, from $4,798 million to $3,718 million. This decline was mainly driven by an 87% drop in other income to $149 million, which was slightly offset by a 1% gain in net interest income to $4,464 million. Overall, SYF ranks 7th on our list of billionaire Cliff Asness' stock picks with huge upside potential. While we acknowledge the potential for SYF as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. There is an AI stock that went up since the beginning of 2025, while popular AI stocks lost around 25%. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than SYF but trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about this . READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stocks To Buy Now and 30 Best Stocks to Buy Now According to Billionaires. Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey. 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Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc. (NBIX): Among Billionaire Cliff Asness' Stock Picks with Huge Upside Potential
We recently published a list of . In this article, we are going to take a look at where Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:NBIX) stands against other billionaire Cliff Asness' stock picks with huge upside potential. Cliff Asness, the founder, managing principal, and chief investment officer of AQR Capital Management, is a well-known figure in the world of finance. Starting with a $10 million commitment from a small group of investors in 1995, Asness was able to boost the Goldman Sachs Global Alpha Fund's assets to more than $100 million in just a handful of months. Cliff Asness' investment strategies, which focus on value and momentum, have delivered exceptional returns for AQR, setting him apart from his fellow hedge fund managers. As a testament, the fund has produced positive returns over the last three years, with its greatest year in 2022, when it returned 43.5%. The first quarter of 2025 continued that momentum. As Wall Street grappled with increased volatility resulting from President Donald Trump's unpredictable tariff policy, AQR Capital Management outperformed the market by 9%. The firm's Apex strategy, a $3 billion multi-strategy fund that includes equities, macro, and arbitrage trades, rose 3.4% in March, adding to its strong quarterly performance. Meanwhile, AQR's Delphi Long-Short Equity Strategy returned 9.7%, while its trend-following Helix strategy gained 3% during the same period. Cliff Asness has repeatedly stated that he is not an admirer of Bitcoin. In a recent CNBC interview, the hedge fund manager voiced pessimism about Bitcoin, claiming that it had no realistic use case, although he did not rule out the possibility that the leading cryptocurrency has formed a bubble. Back in February, the billionaire stated that Bitcoin and the S&P 500, were basically 'the same thing' with varying amounts of volatility. Asness has also questioned the notion that Bitcoin must be seen as a store of value simply because it has a limited supply. The billionaire seemed even more critical of the idea of a cryptocurrency reserve, a stance that sharply contrasts with President Donald Trump's. In a piece written for The Free Press, the money manager stated his thoughts about the President's executive order: 'I've been managing money for 33 years now with some modest success. While there are some worthy competitors, it's hard for me to remember a much worse idea than the U.S. launching a 'strategic cryptocurrency reserve.' Nevertheless, on Thursday, President Donald Trump issued an executive order calling for just such a fund. David Sacks—Trump's crypto czar—tweeted that the reserve would be 'like a digital Fort Knox,' perhaps forgetting that the U.S. has been off the gold standard since 1933. In any case, his words do not diminish my scorn for this dangerous boondoggle, as I will explain below. For this article, we examined AQR Capital Management's Q4 2024 13F filings to list down billionaire Cliff Asness' stock picks with the highest upside potential. We ranked the companies in ascending order of their upside potential. These equities are also popular among elite hedge funds. 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 (). Cliff Asness of AQR Capital ManagementNeurocrine Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:NBIX) is a biopharmaceutical company that specializes in developing medicines for neurological, neuroendocrine, and neuropsychiatric illnesses. INGREZZA, the company's flagship medicine, treats tardive dyskinesia and chorea in Huntington's company additionally offers CRENESSITY, a first-in-class medication for congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH), and continues partnerships for treatments on endometriosis and uterine fibroids. On April 28, Canaccord Genuity revised its financial outlook for Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:NBIX), lowering the stock's price target from $163 to $158, while maintaining a Buy rating. Sumant Kulkarni, an analyst at Canaccord Genuity, stated that the revised model anticipates INGREZZA sales of $550 million, down from the prior estimate of $605 million. Despite this adjustment, Kulkarni noted that the expected sales for 2025 remain at $2.5 billion, which is consistent with Neurocrine Biosciences' own predictions and represents a 9% increase over the estimated sales for 2024. Overall, NBIX ranks 2nd on our list of billionaire Cliff Asness' stock picks with huge upside potential. While we acknowledge the potential for NBIX as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. There is an AI stock that went up since the beginning of 2025, while popular AI stocks lost around 25%. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than NBIX but trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about this . READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stocks To Buy Now and 30 Best Stocks to Buy Now According to Billionaires. Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
