We recently published a list of 10 Worst Booming Stocks to Buy According to Short Sellers. In this article, we are going to take a look at where International Paper Company (NYSE:IP) stands against other worst booming stocks to buy according to short sellers.
Are We Really In September?
September has historically been one of the worst months for US stocks. Considering this and the performance of big tech, particularly AI stocks, in the first week of the month, many investors have been shocked by the performance of the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite Index in the second week of September. Both indices showcased their best performance this year during this week, and both were up for five days in a row. So, it’s not surprising that many investors are confused about what this means and how this even came about in the first place.
According to Tom Lee, Co-founder and Managing Partner at Fundstrat Global Advisors, this is the type of performance investors can expect to see over the next eight weeks up to Election Day – and perhaps even for a couple of weeks after that. With the much-awaited Fed meeting also coming up next week, Lee expects more support especially since we already have enough reason to believe that the Fed is going to make some cuts. According to Lee, with the inflation data coming in better than before and with the labor markets needing more support, the Fed’s actions will give the markets more confidence. This will translate into stocks trading well in the upcoming weeks.
Expected Future Trends
Lee noted that, at least for the next 12 months, investors should be more confident about the markets and their performance. The potential rate cut is not the only reason for this. Another positive factor is the upcoming election – according to Lee, historically, the markets have always performed well in the months coming after an election. This past trend is making the November-December period also look good for stocks in the US. Lee also commented that the policies of both Presidential candidates are good enough for the markets to do well in 2025 as well. So, even if investors see a little more turbulence, the long-term expectations for the market seem largely positive.
In terms of what stocks investors should be looking at in this new environment, Lee noted that the general rule for any investor should be to buy the best companies in any area first. These would be the companies that are able to beat any type of cycle and promise high returns to their shareholders, basically blue chip stocks. At the same time, Lee expects that when the Fed moves rates back toward neutral, cyclical and small-cap stocks will also benefit immensely from the tailwinds created by this move. Because of this, Lee expects small-caps to do really well in the next 12 months.
These insights have highlighted that the markets are now on an upward growth trajectory, and we’ve been seeing a lot of stocks generate immense returns because of this. However, many such booming stocks are being relentlessly shorted, which may brew confusion among investors about which companies to buy now. We’ve thus compiled a list of some booming stocks that short sellers consider to be the worst players in the market and explained whether you should consider buying them or not.
Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points. (see more details here).
A close-up view of a hand assembling boxes of industrial packaging on an assembly line.
International Paper Company (NYSE:IP)
Year-to-Date Performance as of September 14: 33.3%
Short % of Shares Outstanding as of September 14: 11.5%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 44
International Paper Company (NYSE:IP) is a paper and plastic packaging products and materials company. It sells renewable fiber-based packaging and pulp products.
This company had been garnering investor attention because of a potential acquisition by Suzano, a Brazilian company. However, the deal seems to be off, which is why International Paper Company (NYSE:IP) has ended up losing some investors who were hoping for a big premium from the acquisition. The deal fell through because International Paper Company (NYSE:IP) favored independence over consolidation.
Despite the attention lost through this development, International Paper Company (NYSE:IP) still seems like a good investment, seeing as it has been working to make operations more efficient while divesting lower-margin divisions. One such division is its cellulose operation, which, if sold off, would rake in at least $2 billion for International Paper Company (NYSE:IP).
However, International Paper Company (NYSE:IP) does have a rough journey ahead of itself, seeing as it has been underperforming on meaningful metrics for several years. The company’s sales, margins, and profitability have been on a general trend of decline. This, coupled with the Suzano deal falling through, may explain short sellers’ attitude toward International Paper Company (NYSE:IP). However, several hedge funds disagree with their sentiment and continue to hold stakes in this stock.
International Paper Company (NYSE:IP) was seen in the 13F holdings of 44 hedge funds in the second quarter, with a total stake value of $1.2 billion.
Diamond Hill Capital mentioned International Paper Company (NYSE:IP) in its second-quarter 2024 investor letter:
“Other top individual contributors in the quarter included Coherent and new holding International Paper Company (NYSE:IP). International Paper is one of the US’s largest manufacturers of containerboards, which is used to make corrugated boxes and other packaging materials. We expect that as the demand environment improves and the company focuses on its commercial execution, it will be able to improve profitability and bring operating margins back to normalized levels. Given what we view as an attractive valuation for a high-quality company, we capitalized on the opportunity to initiate a position in Q2. Shares subsequently rallied after reports that Brazilian company Suzano is interested in acquiring the company.”
Overall, IP ranks 6th on our list of 10 worst booming stocks to buy according to short sellers. While we acknowledge the potential of IP as an investment, we believe that AI stocks hold promise for delivering high returns and doing so within a shorter timeframe. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than IP but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.