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Billionaire George Soros Pulls the Trigger on These 3 Stocks
Stock Analysis & Ideas

Billionaire George Soros Pulls the Trigger on These 3 Stocks

Few investors have realized better sustained profits than George Soros. His hedge fund’s annualized returns exceeded 30% for over 30 years, and made him one of the world’s richest men. He gained fame in 1992 when he made a famous bet against the Pound Sterling and generated over $1 billion in profits in just 24 hours. While his political activities have generated controversy and criticism, no one can doubt his financial acumen.

He bases that acumen on a simple aphorism: “If investing is entertaining, if you’re having fun, you’re probably not making any money. Good investing is boring.” He means, of course, that the most reliable stocks are the ones least likely to make waves in the markets or headlines in the news.

With this in mind, we’ve taken three of Soros’ recent big moves and looked them up in the TipRanks database. The platform revealed that these are Buy-rated tickers, and, more importantly, all three offer considerable upside potential. Let’s take a closer look.

indie Semiconductor (INDI)

Lets start with a tech company in the semiconductor industry. indie works with the automotive companies, making the semiconductor chips that power cars’ computer systems. The company’s focus is on systems for autonomous vehicles, which will be even more computer-dependent than current models. indie’s products include chips and edge sensors for advanced driver assistance systems such as LiDAR, as well as connected cars and electrification systems. indie sees these technologies as the core of coming changes in the automotive industry.

The company is new to the public markets, as indie was taken onto the NASDAQ through completion of a SPAC merger back in June of this year. The merger, with Thunder Bridge Acquisition II, was completed on June 10 and the INDI ticker started trading the next day. indie netted approximately $400 million in cash proceeds from the transaction.

Earlier this month, indie released its first quarterly earnings report as a publicly traded company. The report, for 2Q21, showed a company-record $9.2 million in top-line revenue, up 148% year-over-year. At the same time, the company’s net loss for the quarter deepened, from $4.5 million in Q2 of last year to $9.6 million in the current report.

Among INDI’s fans is Soros. In his most recent disclosure, Soros revealed that his fund purchased 2.5 million shares of INDI. This holding is currently worth ~$23 million.

Turning to the analyst community, Craig-Hallum’s 5-star analyst Anthony Stoss rates INDI a Buy along with an $18 price target. Investors stand to pocket ~96% gain should the analyst’s thesis play out. (To watch Stoss’s track record, click here)

Stoss backs his stance by citing the company’s product differentiation compared to competitors.

“We think the automotive semiconductor market is at an inflection point and Indie Semiconductor is leading the push for integrated modules versus discrete semiconductors. Multi-purpose chips, versus single use only, can help the auto industry cut costs and allow for smaller players to take share from incumbents bent on keeping high margin single purpose chips. We think the shares present a great buying opportunity for investors as INDI is trading below auto semiconductor peers,” Stoss opined.

This new stock has two recent reviews on file and both agree that this is a stock to Buy, making the analyst consensus a unanimous Moderate Buy. The shares are currently priced at $9.17 and their $16 average price target implies an upside of ~78% this year. (See INDI stock analysis on TipRanks)

Opendoor Technologies (OPEN)

The next Soros pick we’re looking at is Opendoor, an e-commerce platform for residential real estate. Opendoor connects buyers and sellers directly, bypassing agents, and operates in several major, growing urban areas of the US, including Houston, Nashville, and Atlanta. In addition to connected buyer and sellers, the company provides financing services on home purchases made through the platform. Opendoor was founded in 2014 and went public through a SPAC merger in December last year.

In its Q2 report, released earlier this month, Opendoor showed $1.19 billion in total revenue. The report was the company’s third as a public entity, and marked the second consecutive report of a sequential revenue increase. Since OPEN started trading, the company has seen revenue grow from Q4’s $248.89 million.

On the sale front, Opendoor reported expanding operations to a total of 39 markets by the end of 1H21, and facilitating the purchase of 8,494 homes. That last number was up 136% year-over-year. The company’s inventory balance grew 224% from Q1, to $2.7 billion.

Soros first bought into Opendoor in the first quarter of this year, with an initial stake of 699,512 shares. In recent filing, his firm reported expanding that stake by 1.1 million shares, an increase of 158%. Soros’ holding in OPEN is now worth ~$28 million.

5-star analyst Ygal Arounian covers OPEN for Wedbush, and in his recent note the analyst added OPEN to the firm’s ‘Best Ideas’ list.

“We’re adding Opendoor to the Wedbush Best Ideas List after another strong quarter, with guidance implying continued acceleration in the core business, and the early stages of the ancillary revenue opportunity coming together. Opendoor reported a quarter well ahead of consensus with top and bottom-line beats and issued guidance implying an even bigger step up in 2H21,” Arounian wrote.

The analyst added, “While the Opendoor story is way beyond simply the cyclical nature of the housing market, we see this environment as supportive of the story. Opendoor expects to be a market maker in any market condition, and that its pricing capabilities let it optimize acquisition and resale across all market conditions. Opendoor’s pricing capabilities have been best in class, and we believe its vast data is a significant asset.”

Based on the above, Arounian rates OPEN an Outperform (i.e. Buy) and his $30 price target indicates confidence in an impressive 95% one-year upside potential. (To watch Arounian’s track record, click here)

Since going public, Opendoor has picked up 3 analyst reviews. They break down 2 to 1 in favor of Buy over Hold, giving the share a Moderate Buy consensus rating. OPEN has an average price target of $27.50 and a current share price of $15.38, giving the stock an upside potential of ~78% for the next 12 months. (See OPEN stock analysis on TipRanks)

MGM Resorts (MGM)

We’ll wrap up this list with an entertainment and leisure stock. MGM is a long-time staple of the Las Vegas scene, and also operates resorts in Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Maryland, and New Jersey, among other locations. Like much of the hospitality industry, MGM took a heavy blow during the pandemic crisis – on that it only climbed out of this year. The company’s online ventures, launched in 2017, include a Nevada-based online sportsbook and a New Jersey-based online casino. These operations helped support the company during the pandemic period, although MGM did have to resort to 18,000 layoffs last summer.

BetMGM, the company’s online sport betting and gaming platform, has partnerships with the NBA, the NHL, and Major League Baseball, as well as the Buffalo Wild Wings restaurant chain. In recent months, BetMGM has been expanding, announcing in a July a partnership with the Pittsburgh Pirates baseball team and in August with the Arizona Cardinals football team.

Starting in Q2 of last year, MGM reported four consecutive quarters of net EPS losses. The most recent quarter, 2Q21, saw EPS return to positive, with a 14-cent per share print. This was a strong turnaround from the $1.67 loss in the year-ago quarter. At the top line, the quarterly revenue of $2.27 billion was up a whopping 683% from the $289.8 million reported in the year ago quarter, at the height of the COVID crisis. As far as one figure can, it demonstrates the dramatic nature of the recovery as a more normal economic activity resumes.

Soros was impressed enough by MGM’s potential to open a new stake in the company. His fund bought up 200,000 shares in MGM Resorts, which are now worth $7.88 million.

Among the supporters is 5-star analyst David Katz, of Jefferies, who lays out a clear, upbeat case for MGM shares.

“The strong performance in Las Vegas and meaningful margin expansion across markets are consistent with the industry. The highlight of the quarter and subsequent period was the significant progress towards simplifying MGM’s business structure, which is central to our favorable thesis. With greater balance sheet latitude, MGM is positioned to pursue growth opportunities in Asia, New York or digital capabilities while returning capital,” Katz wrote.

To this end, Katz gives MGM shares a Buy rating, and maintains the stock as one of his ‘Top Picks.’ His $56 price target implies an upside of 45% this year. (To watch Katz’s track record, click here)

Overall, MGM has 5 recent analyst reviews, and they break down to 3 Buys and 2 Holds, for a Moderate Buy analyst consensus rating. The shares are selling for $38.52, and their $50.60 average target suggests ~31% one-year upside. (See MGM stock analysis on TipRanks)

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