The best stock picks from the Sohn hedge fund conference

CNBC

14-05-2025

A host of star stock pickers shared their best ideas at the prestigous 2025 Sohn Investment Conference in New York on Wednesday. The annual conference aims to raise funds for the Sohn Conference Foundation to contribute to medical research and is one of the most high-profile gatherings on Wall Street. Among the top conviction picks offered this year by a number of seasoned investment pros speaking before a rapt audience were: Sea Ltd. John Yetimoglu, chief investment officer at Infinitum Partners, saw huge growth ahead for Sea Ltd. , a tech conglomerate headquartered in Singapore, which he called the Amazon of Southeast Asia. "Sea is the backbone of the Southeast Asian economy," Yetimoglu told the conference. "When you think about these countries like Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, Philippines, consumer demographics in these regions are some of the most attractive end markets in the world. [The] middle class is young with growing incomes, and e-commerce is in early stages of penetration." The investor said e-commerce marketplace Shopee, a subsidiary of Sea, controls a 55% market share in Southeast Asia. The firm has a "logistics advantage," which translates into lower costs for merchants, and Yetimoglu expects Shopee to continue to beat analyst estimates and raise its future earnings forecasts and see improving unit economics over time. Sea's Garena business, a large gaming platform with 600 million users that has accelerated user and bookings growth, is another catalyst for the stock, Yetimoglu said. Sea's share price is up 54% so far in 2025. . Wex Payments company Wex is trading far below its intrinsic value and has the potential to more than double in the next three to five years, according to Impactive Capital co-founder and managing partner Lauren Taylor Wolfe. Wex is a category leader in three niche segments — mobility, corporate payments and benefits — but is still trading at its lowest multiple in the company's history and half that of peers, Wolfe said. Impactive, which owns about 7% of Wex, sought board representation and voted against three incumbent board members earlier this month. "We can drive tremendous upside on just today's valuation ... Wex doesn't need to be reinvented, it needs to be realigned," Wolfe said, adding that the opportunity lies in resolving Wex's issues with "complacency, complexity and lack of alignment." One growth opportunity for Wex is in its high margin business managing Flexible Spending Accounts and Health Savings Accounts, Wolfe said. Wex shares have dropped neasrly 22% this year. Adobe William Heard, CEO and CIO at Heard Capital, gave his pitch on Adobe , which he said is in the forefront of the artificial intelligence boom. "Adobe's total addressable markets are not fully penetrated. We believe Adobe is well-positioned to win the [generative] AI arms race," he said. Heard said investors tend to misunderstand Adobe's deliberate approach to AI monetization as its creative workflow translates raw AI material into competitive intelectual property. He believes that Adobe's growth is at an inflection point with most of its products less than a year old. Adobe shares have fallen roughly 10% this year. National Vision Holdings Jonathan Lennon, founder and CIO of PLP Funds, shared why he believes National Vision , an eyeglass retailer in the U.S., could be a "rocket ship." The investor said a faster replacement cycle in eyewear is driving an industry turning point, as evidenced now in transaction volumes. Meanwhile, the company's new management is driving managed care monetization, he noted. Lennon said PLP Funds is increasingly confident in the stock and has quietly become one of its biggest shareholders in the stock. "We think this thing can be a total rocket ship. Join us," Lennon said. Shares of National Vision have soared nearly 79% year to date in 2025. Teva, Global Payments Teva and Global Payments are two standout players with profit growth ahead, according to Glenview Capital Management CEO Larry Robbins. Both names have very low 2026 price-to-earnings multiples compared to other S & P 500 companies, he said. Robbins said that Teva has best-in-category efficacy in Phase 2 ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease treatments and has a multi-billion dollar opportunity in its biosimilars pipeline. The company is also ready to act as an "offensive allocator of capital" having paid back debt and deleveraged its balance sheet, he said. Global Payments, meanwhile, could see meaningful upside as the company achieves scale, cross-selling opportunities and greater balance in working with e-commerce and small businesses, according to Robbins. The investor disputed a widely-held belief that Global Payments' agreement in April to buy rival Worldpay in April was a bad move. "We see meaningful upside to GPN shares," Robbins said, adding that he expects the company to see high-single-digit revenue growth and high teens expansion in earnings per share. Global Payments shares are down more than 25% this year, while Teva is down about 23%. Blue Owl Capital Advent Global Opportunities managing director Mohammed Anjarwala highlighted Blue Owl Capital , an alternative investment asset management company, as his top idea. "Remember, this is a business that's really, really resilient," Anjarwala told the Sohn audience. "We think the outcomes here are asymmetrically attractive." Anjarwala said Blue Owl offers a diversified revenue stream for investors, steady dividends, and a strong opportunity in expanding its offerings to retail investors. Only 3% of retail investors are allocated in alternatives versus 20% of institutional investors, creating potential for large future inflows, he said. Anjarwala projected Blue Owl's earnings per share will double by 2028, fueled mostly asset growth, particularly through a private wealth business. Shares of Blue Owl, which yields 4.5%, are down about 14% this year. Mirion Technologies Radiation detection products maker Mirion Technologies is a recession-proof stock, according to Bornite Capital founder and CIO Dan Dreyfus. According to Dreyfus, 70% of Mirion's revenues are recurring and predictable, making it a hedge against broader uncertainty tied to the fortunes of the economy. The Atlanta-based company also has a large footprint and sells to 95% of all nuclear reactor operators globally. "This is a compounding engine … it's one of these buy and never sell" stocks, Dreyfus said, highlighting a "multi-decade growth profile and its resiliency." "Over time, Mirion's got what it takes to give Vertiv a run for it's money," he added. Vertiv provides critical digital infrastructure, such as power management products, for data centers and other networks. Shares of Mirion have jumped 28% over the past month. Comfort Systems Ryan Packard, managing partner and CIO at Hiddenite Capital Partners, unveiled his idea: Comfort Systems , the second largest employer of construction contractors in the United States. The investor said 85% of Comfort's 19,000 strong labor force goes to a job site every day to construct some of the most complex and critical facilities that make up the backbone of the country. Packard believes Comfort Systems can grow its earnings per share at approximately 25% a year for the foreseeable future. He sees the stock doubling in the next three years. "Long term, FIX has an 18 year history of 25% total shareholder return pay group, and we see a five year outlook at similar rate of compound, "Packard said. "Short term, FIX is in the sweet spot of structural tailwinds from on shoring and AI construction that will persist likely well beyond market expectations." Comfort Systems shares have gained 10% this year.