These 22 well-known companies have a rare opportunity to soon get acquired due to the coronavirus crisis, BTIG says
- Private-equity firms are sitting on an estimated $1.5 trillion in cash that can be used to acquire companies.
- The coronavirus crisis has cheapened the valuations of many popular companies and made them potential targets for deals.
- BTIG's Julian Emanuel identified 22 such targets that have been supported by private equity or venture-capital money in the past.
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The coronavirus crisis has cast a large shadow of uncertainty on the future of asset prices and, more broadly, how the global economy will function. For this reason, Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway is sitting on $128 billion in cash and waiting for the right opportunity.
Like Buffett, private-equity (PE) firms also have reserves of dry powder — $1.5 trillion in total, according to BTIG's estimates.
"The question of 'what to buy?' for PE is more vexing than usual, given the elevated uncertainty," said Julian Emanuel, the chief equity and derivatives strategist at BTIG, in a recent note.
"Yet this uncertainty is what has consistently created opportunity for patient, long-term investors over the last two generations."
The one thing all crises have in common is that they end. And in order to tap into the opportunities that this one presents, PE firms can buy up well-known companies whose valuations have recently plunged, Emanuel said.
He screened for companies that were previously backed by PE or venture capital money, went public after the 2008 financial crisis, and now have market caps above $2 billion. Their stock prices are deeply discounted, either trading under the IPO level or more than 50% below all-time highs.
Additionally, these companies are run by the same CEO or founder that took them public, adding to the element of familiarity that could cushion the uncertainty of buying during a crisis. And finally, all the stocks have relatively low leverage, as assessed by net debt-to-equity ratios less than 100%.
SEE ALSO: Renowned strategist Tom Lee recommends 12 beaten-down travel stocks to buy now for an average profit of 32% during the pandemic recovery
1. Vir Biotechnology
Ticker: VIR
Change from IPO: 40%
Change from all-time high: -63%
Source: BTIG
2. SmileDirectClub
Ticker: SDC
Change from IPO: -70%
Change from all-time high: -67%
Source: BTIG
3. Medallia
Ticker: MDLA
Change from IPO: -3%
Change from all-time high: -54%
Source: BTIG
4. Uber
Ticker: UBER
Change from IPO: -37%
Change from all-time high: -40%
Source: BTIG
5. Beyond Meat
Ticker: BYND
Change from IPO: 266%
Change from all-time high: -62%
Source: BTIG
6. Lyft
Ticker: LYFT
Change from IPO: -59%
Change from all-time high: -67%
Source: BTIG
7. Farfetch
Ticker: FTCH
Change from IPO: -37%
Change from all-time high: -61%
Source: BTIG
8. Allakos
Ticker: ALLK
Change from IPO: 234%
Change from all-time high: -57%
Source: BTIG
9. Pluralsight
Ticker: PS
Change from IPO: 3.4%
Change from all-time high: -60%
Source: BTIG
10. Dropbox
Ticker: DBX
Change from IPO: -7%
Change from all-time high: -55%
Source: BTIG
11. Gates Industrial Corp.
Ticker: GTES
Change from IPO: -56%
Change from all-time high: -59%
Source: BTIG
12. Canada Goose
Ticker: GOOS
Change from IPO: 78%
Change from all-time high: -69%
Source: BTIG
13. Snap
Ticker: SNAP
Change from IPO: -1%
Change from all-time high: -43%
Source: BTIG
14. Athene Holding
Ticker: ATH
Change from IPO: -38%
Change from all-time high: -55%
Source: BTIG
15. Nutanix
Ticker: NTNX
Change from IPO: 14%
Change from all-time high: -72%
Source: BTIG
16. Invitae
Ticker: NVTA
Change from IPO: -4%
Change from all-time high: -31%
Source: BTIG
17. Sage Therapeutics
Ticker: SAGE
Change from IPO: 106%
Change from all-time high: -58%
Source: BTIG
18. Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical
Ticker: RARE
Change from IPO: 179%
Change from all-time high: -57%
Source: BTIG
19. Twitter
Ticker: TWTR
Change from IPO: 7%
Change from all-time high: -63%
Source: BTIG
20. Bluebird Bio
Ticker: BLUE
Change from IPO: 199%
Change from all-time high: -74%
Source: BTIG
21. Diamondback Energy
Ticker: FANG
Change from IPO: 130%
Change from all-time high: -57%
Source: BTIG
22. Intercept Pharmaceuticals
Ticker: ICPT
Change from IPO: 413%
Change from all-time high: -85%
Source: BTIG
* This article was originally published here
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/clusterstock/~3/WV0j7e9ahYg/stock-picks-acquisition-targets-for-private-equity-coronavirus-crisis-btig-2020-5
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