Student Managed Investment Fund

Michael Chen ’20 pitched Booking Holdings (BKNG) to the Monday section of the Student Managed Investment Fund on February 17th, 2020.  Booking Holdings is the world’s leading provider of online travel & related services, provided to consumers and local partners in more than 230 countries and territories through six primary brands: Booking.com, KAYAK, Priceline, Agoda, Rentalcars.com and OpenTable. The company has experienced an average 11.47% CAGR in revenue from 2014-2018 primarily through hotel accommodation services in Europe. It continues to invest in growing markets such as alternative accommodations and the Asia Pacific region. Through the recent acquisitions of OpenTable and FareHarbor, Booking Holdings is expanding with restaurant reservations and activities. These added offerings contribute to the company’s goal of becoming the “one-stop-shop” of travel. The class voted to buy 20 shares of BKNG and sell 600 shares of ELY. 

Logan Springer pitched TPI Composites to the Student Managed Investment Fund on February 3^rd, 2020. TPI Composites is an independent American wind blade manufacturer for wind turbines with manufacturing facilities in North America, Europe, and Asia. Currently the world has 580GW of wind capacity installed. In the next 10 years, the world is projected to add an additional 73GW of wind energy. The levelized cost of energy is continuing to downtrend, and now the marginal cost of wind energy is cheaper than additional gas and coal. The increased trend of turbine manufacturers outsourcing wind blades coupled with TPI Composites’ global manufacturing footprint will help the company take advantage of this tremendous growth in wind energy. Furthermore, with most active and passive flows entering into ESG / clean energy themed funds, TPI Composites should benefit from these flows. The class voted to purchase 1300 shares of TPI Composites and to sell completely out of XLE, Devon Energy, and Royal Dutch Shell.

John Romei ’20 pitched Duke Energy Corporation (DUK) to the Student Managed Investment Fund on February 3, 2020. Duke Energy provides electricity generation and distribution to 7.7 million customers and natural gas to over 1.6 million. Duke Energy operates primarily in 6 states in the Southeast and Midwest regions of The US. Since its inception in 1904, Duke Energy has provided utility services to the region driving economic and population growth, now shifting towards lower-emissions and renewable energy services. Management expects to continue steady growth to its high dividend payments and the company’s $37 Billion growth capital plan presents strong top line growth potential. The class voted to by 325 shares of Duke Energy and sell out entirely of the S&P 500 Utilities ETF SPDR (XLU) position of 235 shares. The remaining shares were purchased out of the portfolio’s money market holdings. 

Tyler Wincig ’20 pitched a Boeing (BA) add-on and put-onboarding strategy to the Student Managed Investment Fund on January 27th, 2020. Boeing is one of the world’s largest aerospace manufacturers. The company conducts business in four divisions: Commercial Airplanes, Defense Space and Security, Global Services, and Boeing Capital. Over the course of the past 18 months, Boeing has endured one of its worst economic and reputational stretches in its century long history. As a result of unfavorable events, most notably the two deadly Boeing 737 MAX crashes and the model’s subsequent worldwide grounding, Boeing’s share price has declined to the extent that the company has become undervalued. With a high probability that the 737 MAX grounding will be removed during the spring of 2020, Boeing’s insurmountable position in the aerospace industry, the health of Boeing’s backlog, Boeing’s new leadership, and the obstacles Airbus faces in terms of gaining more commercial aerospace market share, Boeing is in a position to recover from its mistakes and regain its title as the largest aircraft manufacturer in the world. On January 28th, 2020, the SMIF portfolio purchased 65 additional shares of Boeing at $315.00/share, and sold 1 BA 2/21/20 P325 for $16.74/share, funded by selling 300 shares of LUV at $57.21/share, 20 shares of SPY at $327.08/share, and 35 shares of XLI at $82.50/share. 

Aaron Ball ‘20 pitched Livongo Health (LVGO) on Monday, December 2, 2019. Livongo is a provider of an integrated suite of solutions for the healthcare industry sold through the employer and managed care channels. Livongo’s current solutions target the chronic conditions of diabetes, prediabetes and weight management, hypertension and behavioral health. Its platform provides cellular-connected devices, supplies, informed coaching, data science-enabled insights and improved access to medications to its members. Livongo currently boasts 207,815 members from 771 clients, which represent over 20% of Fortune 500 companies. Livongo has experienced rapid growth since its founding in 2014 by Bucknell alumnus Glen Tullman (‘81). It is seeking to continue its strong growth through the sale of additional solutions to existing clients and expansion into new markets, notably the fully-insured employer, government and international markets. The class voted to buy 350 shares of LVGO and fund the purchase with the sale of 32 shares of SPY.

Jack Baker ’20 pitched Campbell Soup Company (CPB) on November 4, 2019 to the Monday section of the Student Managed Investment Fund. Campbell’s Soup is a manufacturer and marketer of high-quality, branded food and beverage products which traces its heritage back 150 years. Campbell’s product segments are Meals & Beverages and Snacks, with 13 core brands generating roughly 80% of their yearly revenue. In 2019, Campbell’s Soup revamped their leadership team by hiring a new CEO, CFO, Head of Snacks, and Head of Meals & Beverages. In addition, Campbell’s is overhauling its portfolio by selling out of non-core businesses in an effort to reduce their amount of debt leverage. The class voted to buy 325 shares of Campbell Soup Company by selling 20 shares of SPY and 150 shares of XLP ETF.

Henry Charman ‘20 pitched CVS Health (CVS) on Monday, October 28, 2019. CVS Health is an integrated health services company providing a range of products and services to over 100 million commercial and government network clients. CVS’s offering portfolio includes cost management strategies for private and federal drug plan sponsors, a 68,000-store retail and specialty pharmacy network, and a variety of health insurance products serving over 42 million plan members following the company’s acquisition of insurer Aetna in November of 2018. Despite concern surrounding the 29% premium CVS paid in the $70 billion Aetna deal, CVS has been able to meet and even exceed near-term integration targets with Aetna in the first three quarters of 2019.  Since hitting a 52-week low of $51.72 in March, CVS shares have recovered over 40% to $75.36 on December 6th. On October 28th, the class voted to fund the purchase of 225 shares of CVS with the sale of 50 shares of SPY.

James Weissenborn ’20 pitched Veeva Systems (VEEV) to the Monday section of the Student Managed Investment Fund on November 11, 2020. Veeva Systems provides application software and professional service solutions to pharmaceutical and life science companies across the globe. By creating easy to use, integrated products, Veeva Systems has a high retention rate of customers. Customers also continue to implement products from the expanding product line. Veeva Systems has begun offering solutions for industries outside of life sciences including chemicals, cosmetics and consumer goods. In the past four years, Veeva acquired three companies including Physicians World, Crossix and Zinc Ahead. Revenue is derived from subscription services and professional services, but the majority of revenue is generated from subscriptions. The class voted to buy 110 shares of Veeva Systems and sell 170 shares of the Health Care ETF, XLV.