Guru John Griffin (Trades, Portfolio) is the president of Blue Ridge Capital, an investment partnership that he founded in 1996. Prior to founding Blue Ridge Capital, Griffin was president of Tiger Management where he was able to learn and gain confidence in his investment ability under the guidance of legendary guru Julian Robertson (Trades, Portfolio). Griffin received his MBA from Stanford University Graduate School of Business and his BS in finance from the University of Virginia’s McIntire School of Commerce.
In the fourth quarter of 2015, Griffin added 3.08 million shares of Autodesk Inc. (ADSK, Financial) to his portfolio.
Autodesk Inc. is also traded in Germany and Mexico.
Autodesk Inc. was incorporated in California in April 1982 and reincorporated in Delaware in May 1994. The company designs software and services offering customers enhanced, productive business solutions. Autodesk specializes in manufacturing, architecture, building, construction, and media and entertainment industries. According to the company’s website, 19 of the last Academy award winners for best visual effects have used Autodesk software to design, visualize and simulate their ideas before they’re built or created.
Autodesk has a market cap of $11.66 billion, an enterprise value of $10.86 billion, a P/B ratio of 7.83 and a quick ratio of 2.10.
There are a few risk factors that are worth considering before investing in Autodesk.
- Autodesk’s toughest challenge in the near future is its ability to manage the business model and transition to cloud-based products and more flexible product licenses. There is fierce competition in the software industry. Autodesk must be able to compete against other successful Fortune 500 companies within its industry that have vigilant leadership including Microsoft, Oracle and IBM.
- Autodesk conducts a substantial portion of its business outside of the U.S., and there is risk involved with fluctuations in currency exchange rates that could negatively impact the company's financial results and cash flows.
- The company has a sub par 4/10 financial strength rating according to GuruFocus with a 1.51 cash to debt ratio, ranking them lower than 69% of the 1,810 companies in the global software application industry.
John Griffin's decision to add 3.080 million shares of Autodesk appears high risk and volatile because of the risk factors and competition within the Global Software Application industry.
Below is a Peter Lynch chart for Autodesk:
Â
