50 new pitches found in hedge fund reports this week

Thanks for reading Stock Analysis Compilation! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. 🚀 Beyond this week’s pitches: the full searchable archive of 3,000+ hedge-fund pitches across 300+ funds lives on the site. Start a 7-day free trial 🔹 Accton Technology (2345 TT) by ClearBridge Investments Emerging Markets Strategy 🔹 APA Corp. (APA US) by Hotchkis & Wiley Value Opportunities 🔹 Arista Networks Inc (ANET US) by Brown Advisory Large-Cap Sustainable Growth Strategy 🔹 AST SpaceMobile (ASTS US) by Crossroads Capital Investment Partners, LP 🔹 Beasley Broadcast Group (BBGI US) by Kingdom Capital Advisors KCA Value Composite 🔹 Broadcom Inc. (AVGO US) by Baron Global Durable Advantage ETF 🔹 CSL Limited (CSL AU) by Brown Advisory Global Value Select Strategy 🔹 Disco Corporation (6146 JP) by Buffalo funds International Fund 🔹 Edwards Lifesciences Corporation (EW US) by Baron Asset Fund 🔹 EPAM Systems (EPAM US) by White Falcon Capital Management Partner Strategy 🔹 Equitable Holdings (EQH US) by Harris Associates U.S. Large Value Strategy 🔹 Exco Resources (EXCE US) by Cedar Creek Partners (Eriksen Capital Management) 🔹 FTAI Aviation (FTAI US) by Crossroads Capital Investment Partners, LP 🔹 GFL Environmental, Inc. (GFL US) by Ave Maria Funds 🔹 Green Dot Corp. (GDOT US) by Alluvial Fund 🔹 Guidewire Software, Inc. (GWRE US) by Baron Focused Growth Fund 🔹 Hoa Phat Group (HPG VN) by Harding Loevner Emerging Markets Equity 🔹 Infineon Technologies (IFX GR) by Harding Loevner International Developed Markets Equity 🔹 INOX India Limited (INOXCVA IN? N/A) by Baron India Fund 🔹 Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (ICE US) by GreensKeeper Value Fund 🔹 Jazz Pharmaceuticals (JAZZ US) by Aristotle Global Equity Advisory 🔹 Magnum Ice Cream Co (MICC N/A) by Upslope Capital Long/Short Strategy 🔹 Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (MMC US) by Artisan Partners US Select Equity Fund 🔹 Mastercard (MA US) by Pershing Square 🔹 McDermott International Ltd (MDRIQ US) by Alluvial Fund 🔹 Meta Platforms (META US) by Wedgewood Partners Large Cap Focused Strategy 🔹 Murphy USA (MUSA US) by Artisan Partners U.S. Small-Cap Growth Strategy 🔹 Permian Resources Corp. (PR US) by Conestoga Capital Advisors Small Cap, SMid Cap & Micro Cap Growth Composites 🔹 Precision Wires India Limited (PRECWIRE IN? N/A) by Baron India Fund 🔹 Progyny Inc. (PGNY US) by Buffalo funds Mid Cap Growth Fund 🔹 Prologis, Inc. (PLD US) by Baron Real Estate Income Fund 🔹 RCI Hospitality Holdings (RICK US) by Ace River Capital Partners, L.P. 🔹 Samsung Electro-Mechanics Co Ltd (009150 KS) by Hood River CM Emerging Markets Fund 🔹 Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (005930 KS) by Baron Global Durable Advantage ETF 🔹 SK Hynix (000660 KS) by Artisan Partners Emerging Markets Fund 🔹 SK hynix Inc (000660 KS) by Buffalo funds International Fund 🔹 Snowflake Inc. (SNOW US) by Spyglass Growth Strategy 🔹 Space Exploration Technologies Corp. by Baron Global Opportunity Strategy 🔹 Sumitomo Electric Industries Ltd (5802 JP) by Artisan Partners Global Equity Strategy 🔹 TechnologyOne (TNE AU) by LHC Capital High Conviction Fund 🔹 Tencent Holdings (700 HK) by Vision Capital Fund 🔹 The Charles Schwab Corporation (SCHW US) by Baron First Principles ETF 🔹 The Magnum Ice Cream Company N.V. by Aristotle International Equity ADR WM 🔹 Theon International (THEON NA) by Amati Global Innovation Fund 🔹 U-Haul Holding Co. (UHAL/B US) by Hotchkis & Wiley Focused Global Value Strategy 🔹 Ventas, Inc. (VTR US) by Guinness Global Real Assets Fund 🔹 Viking Holdings (VIK US) by Brown Advisory Mid-Cap Growth Strategy 🔹 Volati (VOLO SS) by REQ 🔹 Welltower Inc. (WELL US) by Baron Opportunity Fund 🔹 Western Digital Corporation (WDC US) by Alger.com Focus Equity Fund Accton Technology ($2345 TT) Fund: ClearBridge Investments Emerging Markets Strategy Thesis: Accton Technology is a high-quality compounder in network switches, supported by AI data traffic growth, customer relationships, and an asset-light model. Source: Read the original letter ↗ Analysis: In Taiwan, we purchased Accton Technology and Elite Material. Accton is a high-quality compounder operating in network switches — an increasingly critical part of data centers as AI drives rapid growth in data traffic. We have confidence in the long-term story given Accton’s strong relationships with major customers and its efficient, asset-light business model. Accton is seeing growing participation in AI infrastructure, and we think continued upgrade cycles support robust long-term growth at attractive valuations. Access our full research database on Accton Technology APA Corp. ($APA US) Fund: Hotchkis & Wiley Value Opportunities Thesis: APA is an upstream oil and gas company with strong free cash flow, undervalued reinvestment opportunities, and a discounted valuation. Source: Read the original letter ↗ Analysis: APA Corp. (APA) is an independent oil and gas E&P (exploration & production) company operating in the Permian and in Egypt. Quarterly results were in line with expectations and supportive of our investment thesis, but the stock fell as oil retreated due to optimism about a resolution to the conflict in Iran. APA offers strong free cash flow generation driven by favorable natural gas price differentials and underappreciated reinvestment opportunities in Suriname, Egypt, and potentially Alaska. Despite concerns over shorter Permian resource life, APA trades at attractive value metrics relative to its free cash flow yield and remains leveraged to a structurally undersupplied global energy market. The company has an investment grade balance sheet and trades at a valuation discount to its peers. Access our full research database on APA Corp. Arista Networks Inc ($ANET US) Fund: Brown Advisory Large-Cap Sustainable Growth Strategy Thesis: Arista Networks Inc supplies cloud and AI networking infrastructure with a software-centric moat, structural share gains, and strong growth prospects. Source: Read the original letter ↗ Analysis: Arista Networks Inc (ANET) is a leading provider of cloud and AI networking infrastructure. The company’s software-centric architecture, anchored by its proprietary Extensible Operating System (EOS), enables the high-speed, low- latency connectivity required to power modern data centers and large-scale AI workloads. In combination with its open Ethernet-based architecture, the EOS software code base enables superior telemetry, automation, and network management capabilities that deliver better performance, reliability, and total cost of ownership versus competitors. We believe Arista Networks Inc will be a structural share gainer in networking and will continue to benefit from the rapid expansion of AI infrastructure and shortening network upgrade cycles. The company’s ability to improve the efficiency of digital infrastructure will enable customers to increase compute utilization and reduce power consumption. We believe the company is positioned to deliver over 20% revenue growth and peer- leading profitability for years to come. We were able to take advantage of temporary stock weakness during the quarter due to transitory supply chain concerns while initiating the position. Access our full research database on Arista Networks Inc 🔓 Unlock the full research database This week’s ideas are a sample. The real edge is the full searchable archive : The Associate ($19/mo) gives you every pitch we’ve indexed — 3,000+ across 300+ funds — searchable by fund, sector or ticker, plus the entire quarterly-letter archive. The weekend of PDF-hunting, already done for you. The Rainmaker ($29/mo) adds Warren AI to ask questions across the whole corpus in plain English. Start a 7-day free trial AST SpaceMobile ($ASTS US) Fund: Crossroads Capital Investment Partners, LP Thesis: AST SpaceMobile is transitioning from R&D to operational scale, with FCC approval, expanding manufacturing, multiple carrier partnerships, and government contracts supporting a direct-to-device satellite network. Source: Read the original letter ↗ Analysis: AST SpaceMobile (ASTS) Q2 picked up exactly where Q1 left off. As we’ve stated before, the transition we laid out last quarter—from R&D- stage startup to operational scaleup—went from “underway” to “unmistakable” over the last three months. It charged us a toll along the way, however: The BB7 satellite launched on April 19 but was then lost when Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket failed during deployment. The failure was cleanly attributable to Blue Origin, not to AST; it amounted to a ~$125 million write-off (partially covered by launch insurance, and claims have been filed). AST’s response on the May call was the right one, citing its 33 satellites (now 42, as of this writing) in advanced stages of production. So, yes, BB7 was a loss, but it’s moving on to the next launch. First-quarter results in May landed with modest revenue from gateways and government milestones, guidance reaffirmed, and. roughly $3.5B of cash. More important, the FCC granted commercial authorization for SpaceMobile service in the United States, covering a network of up to 248 satellites. So the regulatory question for the home market is now answered. Block 1 satellites also set a 98.9 Mbps peak-speed record to unmodified smartphones, with Block 2 expected to nearly double it. Pro forma liquidity stands near $3.7B as of June 30, 2026, which is more than enough to fund the constellation buildout and get AST to commercial service without going back to the capital markets. However, the company cited the July convert was a raise to “go on offense,” so we’re excited to see what materializes as they now go from strength to strength. The manufacturing story is where the scaleup shows in hard numbers. AST exited 2025 producing six satellites’ worth of Micron phased arrays per month. It expects to hold a six-per-month full-stack testing, assembly, and integration cadence through the first half of 2026. Q2 ended with BlueBirds 11 through 33 in advanced stages of production and assembly, with Micron’s equivalent to 40 satellites targeted for completion by mid-year (Update: complete), enough for AST to reach BlueBird 46. Its global manufacturing footprint now exceeds 500,000 square feet, with construction of a future 400,000 square foot Midland site recently announced. That’s quite a scaleup. Most importantly, CEO Abel Avellan confirmed on the call that single-satellite launches ended with BB7; future missions will stack satellites in groups of three, four, six, or eight. On June 17, BlueBirds 8, 9, and 10 went up together on a single Falcon 9 in the first multi-satellite BlueBird launch. The operational constellation now stands at twelve BlueBirds, and the structural question we flagged last quarter—whether the lighter Block 2 composite bus could hold up in a stacked configuration—has now been answered. Launch math has officially shifted from additive to multiplicative, and the company is targeting roughly 45 satellites in orbit in early 2027, using SpaceX and other providers. Blue Origin’s untimely blow-up appears recoverable by year-end or soon after, with a return to launch by early 2027. AST’s recent convertible raise may have been untimely from a near-term share price perspective. But with manufacturing stepping up so quickly, we believe it was prudent for the company to ensure it could fund more launches, possible investments in spectrum, and a Japanese government-funded JV. Everything else continued to progress: On the commercial side, Orange, Telefónica, CK Hutchison, Taiwan Mobile, and Sunrise were added or advanced, with Telus and Axian Telecom joining during the quarter. The partner base is now over 60 MNOs covering over 3 billion subscribers, and ground integration is underway in seventeen countries representing a combined 2.9 billion people. Management also laid out the spectrum stack in more detail than we’d seen previously: approximately 1,150 MHz of tunable low- and mid-band MNO spectrum globally, 45 MHz of MSS lower mid-band in North America, and 60 MHz of licensed S-band priority rights outside North America. Avellan also telegraphed a mid-band constellation beginning to launch by the end of 2026, which is not in the model and would meaningfully expand the TAM beyond the core D2D story. On the government side, AST layered a $30M prime contract from the Space Development Agency for HALO Europa Track 2 on top of the SHIELD IDIQ award from January, another direct-to-device national security workstream bolted onto the Golden Dome trajectory. Government revenue doesn’t require a full constellation of satellites, and scales linearly with satellite count. Moreover, for the highest-value direct-to-device contracts, we believe AST remains the only bidder on Earth with demonstrated capability. In other words, “competitive procurement” for the contracts that matter is just a formality. Finally, AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon have agreed in principle to pool spectrum into a direct-to-device joint venture with economics that we think run directly through AST. That leaves SpaceX (which was refused wholesale access by all three of them) to build a vertically-integrated carrier of its own. Net-net, AST is now manufacturing at scale and has managed the near-term issues associated with Blue Origin’s setback. The shares spent late June and July being marked down with everything space-adjacent that wasn’t SpaceX, and then again with everything carrying a momentum label. But none of that affected a single satellite, contract, or megahertz of bandwidth listed above. As we wrote in our AST thesis we sent to LP’s, Connecting Dots, the treasure won’t remain hidden forever, and another layer of wrapping is removed with each new government contract, satellite launch, or commercial partnership. Access our full research database on AST SpaceMobile Beasley Broadcast Group ($BBGI US) Fund: Kingdom Capital Advisors KCA Value Composite Thesis: Beasley Broadcast Group is presented as a deeply undervalued asset play where a new capital structure aligns the family with shareholders and could unlock significant value from real estate and radio assets. Source: Read the original letter ↗ Analysis: Beasley has been a difficult long-term investment, with the stock down more than 90% from its peak ten years ago. The company got itself into such a debt predicament that their notes were trading hands for 25 to 30 cents on the dollar. One firm saw an opportunity, built a position in their debt, and offered to exchange the notes for new debt at 50% of face value, lowering Beasley’s net debt by nearly $100m. The new debt matures sooner, with an important caveat that if they don’t pay it off the new debt holders will take control of 95% of the outstanding stock. You may be asking yourself why I find this attractive. We believe the new capital structure creates a strong incentive for the Beasley family to monetize valuable assets to avoid losing control of the business. Based on our estimates, the company’s real estate and radio station assets could support value of up to approximately $200 per share after repayment of outstanding debt, though realizing that value depends on asset-sale timing, execution, and market conditions. With their interests finally aligned with common shareholders, we hope they can reverse the company’s long-term underperformance and do right by investors. Thanks to our active, go-anywhere approach, we were able to establish our position under $6/share in April, before increasing the stake as we gained confidence in the aligned incentives. Access our full research database on Beasley Broadcast Group Broadcom Inc. ($AVGO US) Fund: Baron Global Durable Advantage ETF Thesis: Broadcom supplies semiconductor and infrastructure software, with a strong AI custom-silicon moat and major hyperscaler relationships. Source: Read the original letter ↗ Analysis: We took advantage of the stock’s sell-off post earnings to initiate a new position in Broadcom Inc., which designs and supplies semiconductor and infrastructure software solutions that sit at the core of modern computing and networking. The company is a global leader in high-performance digital and mixed signal technologies spanning networking, connectivity, storage, and custom accelerators (ASICs). Through VMware, Broadcom also owns critical software layers used to virtualize and manage large- scale compute environments. Broadcom has one of the most durable and formidable competitive moats in the AI infrastructure buildout. As AI labs and hyperscalers look to not only optimize their hardware for AI workloads to achieve peak performance but also optimize costs to extract the highest intelligence per dollar of capex spent, they partner with Broadcom – the best silicon design player, one that excels at both digital and analog circuit design. Customers also choose Broadcom due to its ability to innovate at an annual cadence, similar to NVIDIA. Speed of innovation matters because lagging would mean that a competitor using NVIDIA’s product cadence will have access to more powerful and cheaper compute. Moreover, ASIC designs are growing increasingly complex and require a multitude of technologies to bring to life through full system optimization. A hyperscaler or an AI lab cannot afford to go with an inferior solution when its revenue and long-term success are tied to the quality and the quantity of the compute power it has available. While there has been a lot of noise about customers considering vertically integrating for future silicon designs, this remains only a bear narrative at this stage. The increasing complexity of AI systems demands very tight integrations between the different components, which is done via extreme co-design of compute, memory, input/output on dies, and networking fabrics. Broadcom, being at the frontier in all of these technologies, has therefore a far more durable moat than the market appreciates, in our view. Hock Tan on recent earnings call (Q2’2026) addressed this issue with respect to key customer, Google: “Our relationship continues to be strategic and very substantial as we continue to deliver vastly superior technology and execution compared to other alternatives. This ability to provide differentiated value to Google ensures that our business will sustain and grow for the foreseeable future.” We expect Google to continue accelerating its investments in TPUs, driven by growing internal and external customer demand. Broadcom has also recently extended its multi-year agreement with Google to 2031, validating its strong position within the Google silicon ecosystem and establishing it as a key player benefiting from Google’s investments in AI infrastructure. Hock Tan commented on the agreement in the last earnings call: “... a very, very strong agreement and it basically reflects the strength of the partnership we have simply because of the products we do... and any intellectual property we deploy into this whole program... it’s a commitment that is very substantial in dollars. Very, very substantial amount of dollars.” Beyond Google, other customers such as Anthropic, OpenAI, and Meta each showed incrementally positive signs in their respective ASIC adoption journeys. Anthropic, following its recent extraordinary success, is planning for larger compute requirements, which should translate into a larger TPU compute base over the next few years. OpenAI, working with Broadcom, taped out its first inference silicon, Jalapeno, in a record nine months, targeting 10GW of ASIC-based AI infrastructure this decade. Meta continues to hold a bullish view on AI and the associated investments in AI infrastructure. Additionally, Apple signed a multi-year agreement with Broadcom spanning multiple products, not only conventional radio frequency components and next-generation wireless connectivity technologies, but also ASICs across multiple generations of Apple products. Hock Tan expects ASICs to match GPU units in volume by next year, and Broadcom, as the leader in this space, should continue to be the biggest beneficiary of this growth. We believe that Broadcom is uniquely positioned to capture the lion’s share of the custom silicon market for years to come, with strong competitive moats, underpinning a long duration of growth. Access our full research database on Broadcom Inc. CSL Limited ($CSL AU) Fund: Brown Advisory Global Value Select Strategy Thesis: CSL Limited is a high-quality biopharma business with attractive economics now available at a low multiple. Source: Read the original letter ↗ Analysis: CSL is a business we have admired as a peer to a past investment, but hadn’t expected to find its way onto the kind of valuation we are willing to underwrite. However, a series of external headwinds and self-inflicted mistakes have allowed us to pay a low multiple to invest in what we suspect is one of the strongest biopharma businesses globally. CSL is primarily the world’s largest plasma-products business, as well as one of three large flu vaccine producers and the owner of Vifor, a producer of treatments for iron deficiency and nephrology. The plasma business collects human plasma from donors and breaks this into different proteins that are sold as drugs to treat a wide range of diseases, and CSL generates the industry’s most attractive economics because of a wider portfolio of proteins sold. The stock has sold off to low multiples because of a bad acquisition (Vifor), demand headwinds to certain plasma products, and negativity toward vaccination in the U.S. market. Access our full research database on CSL Limited Disco Corporation ($6146 JP) Fund: Buffalo funds International Fund Thesis: Disco Corporation is a semiconductor equipment company held for secular growth, competitive advantages, and strong free cash flow. Source: Read the original letter ↗ Analysis: The Fund’s top 10 holdings included Disco Corp 2.17 ... Regardless of the eventual outcome, we continue to maintain exposure to secular trends that we believe to be at least partially insulated from these potential risks, among them trends related to advancements in AI, Electrification, and Defense. We continue to seek out companies that are benefiting from secular growth trends, sound business models and competitive advantages, while investing with a mid-to-the long-term outlook. We appreciate businesses that generate consistent and strong free cash flow, with management teams that focus on generating returns above the cost of capital and creating value for shareholders. We believe that by continuing our focused and disciplined strategy we should be able to post attractive risk-adjusted returns over the longer term. Access our full research database on Disco Corporation Edwards Lifesciences Corporation ($EW US) Fund: Baron Asset Fund Thesis: Edwards Lifesciences Corporation makes heart valve replacement and repair products, and the fund sees dominant market share, expanding markets, and attractive margins. Source: Read the original letter ↗ Analysis: We initiated a position in Edwards Lifesciences Corporation , a leading manufacturer of heart valve replacement and repair products. Edwards has dominant market share in transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR), a minimally invasive procedure used to treat aortic stenosis, a disease that obstructs the flow of blood throughout the body and strains the heart. If left untreated, the condition can lead to death. Edwards’ position in this market is supported by a robust body of positive clinical evidence and widespread physician familiarity with Edwards’ product and workflow. We believe that today’s $7 billion market for TAVR can grow to more than $10 billion as approved indications expand to allow TAVR to cover a broader patient population. In addition, Edwards’ competitor Boston Scientific recently exited the TAVR market, and another competitor, Medtronic, released poor data about its product that we expect will drive additional market share to Edwards. Furthermore, recent policies implemented by Medicare should expand the number of medical centers that can perform TAVR procedures. Edwards also manufactures products used to treat the heart’s mitral and tricuspid valves (TMTT). When these valves are dysfunctional, the heart can be forced to work harder, becoming strained and possibly leading to death. Edwards is in the unique position of offering patients options for both valve repair and replacement. The company has devoted more than a decade of research to develop its TMTT portfolio. Addressing TMTT issues is structurally much more complex than TAVR, and the barrier to developing effective solutions is extremely high. We believe that today’s $1.5 billion TMTT market can grow to as much as $8 billion over time. With a combined addressable market of nearly $20 billion, we believe Edwards has meaningful opportunity to compound growth. The company also has an attractive and improving margin structure, with 78% gross margins and 27% operating margins. With a more stable competitive landscape in TAVR and large greenfield opportunity in TMTT, we believe Edwards can compound its revenues at low double digit rates and its earnings per share in the mid-teens for an extended period. Access our full research database on Edwards Lifesciences Corporation EPAM Systems ($EPAM US) Fund: White Falcon Capital Management Partner Strategy Thesis: EPAM Systems has a resilient business and net-cash balance sheet, trades at a low multiple, and is expected to benefit from rising demand for trusted engineering partners as AI deployment and integration become more important. Source: Read the original letter ↗ Analysis: The biggest detractor this quarter was EPAM Systems (EPAM). We have stubbornly held the stock for some time and as the saying goes there is sometimes no difference between being early and being wrong. While the underlying business has remained resilient and a net-cash balance sheet, the stock has now de-rated to approximately 4x EV/EBITDA and 7x P/E. The challenge in IT services is that AI is evolving so rapidly that many enterprises are delaying large digital transformation projects as they wait for the technology to mature. We believe this is a timing rather than a structural issue. In fact, AI should ultimately increase demand for sophisticated engineering as companies modernize legacy systems and integrate AI into their workflows. As AI capabilities have advanced, the leading labs have recognized that the real bottleneck is no longer model development but enterprise deployment and integration. This has driven investment in forward-deployed engineering (FDE) teams and, in some cases, acquisitions of companies with these capabilities. EPAM has spent decades building exactly this type of organization. If AI becomes ubiquitous, we believe the value of trusted engineering partners that can integrate and operationalize these technologies should increase, not decrease. If anything, the best engineers become even more valuable in an AI world, and that has long been EPAM’s competitive advantage. We also take solace in the fact that there is substantial strategic value in EPAM. Recently, one of EPAM’s peers, Nagarro, agreed to be acquired by Persistent Systems at approximately 9.1x EV/EBITDA and 1.3x revenue - more than double EPAM’s valuation! Access our full research database on EPAM Systems


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