When MBAs get together and compete in a stock pitch competition, who would win and what would they pitch?
This year the Ross School of Business held their annual stock pitch competition on Nov. 10th and schools from across the country competed in two rounds of stock pitches. Judges for the event came from Balaysny Asset Management, Wells Fargo, Thrivent Financial, Munder Capital, NorthPointe Capital, R.H. Bluestein & Co, Loomis Sayles and Kingsland Capital Management.
In each round they were required to pitch a different stock and this year, Ankush Sharda, Diego Gavito, and Lior Shachaf from Chicago Booth won the final round and $2,000. I interviewed the students and this is what they had to say about their winning pitch:
Kai Petainen
Ankush Sharda, Diego Gavito, and Lior Shachaf win $2,000 at Ross MBA Stock Pitch competition. Photo by Kai Petainen
Disclosure: Kai works at the Ross School of Business.
Your school has a Investment Management Group, could you tell me more about it?
The three of us are part of the Investment Management Group at the Booth School of Business. It’s a group managed entirely by second year Booth students who interned at Investment Management firms in a variety of roles during the summer. First year members are given a wide array of opportunities to enhance their investment knowledge and experience, including but not limited to stock pitch competitions, training seminars, active participation in the student managed investment fund, conferences and corporate conversations with some of the most reputable firms in the industry. The group represents a huge asset for any Booth student that wants to work in the industry in the future, especially for career switchers.
What stock did you pitch in the final round and what was your recommendation?
For our final round we pitched Hawaiian Holdings (HA, the holding company that owns Hawaiian Airlines) as a long with a one year price target of $45.00, implying a return of 37%. At the time of the pitch the stock was trading at $33.05.
What catalysts might move the stock?
