Each quarter, institutional investors with at least $100 million in assets under management must file a Form 13F with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The form is used to disclose changes in equity holdings, and some smaller investors use the reports to track the stocks that big money movers are buying and selling.
In the most recent round of filings, JPMorgan Chase, an investment bank with over $2.5 trillion in assets under management, added 2.8 million shares of Nvidia (NVDA -3.89%) to its portfolio. And BlackRock, an institution with over $10 trillion in assets under management, added 1.2 million shares of Adobe (ADBE 1.42%) to its portfolio. Of course, it's always smart to do your own research before investing in a company, so let's take a look at both of these two metaverse stocks.
Image source: Getty Images.
1. Nvidia
Nvidia's brand has become synonymous with state-of-the-art graphics and high-performance computing. And the reason for that success is the graphics processing unit (GPU), a chip capable of performing trillions of calculations per second. While Nvidia originally designed the GPU to revolutionize video game graphics, those ultra-powerful processors have also been adopted in data centers, where they run heavy workloads like data analytics and artificial intelligence (AI).
Nvidia has positioned itself as a market leader in several industries. The company holds over a 90% share of the supercomputer accelerator and workstation graphics market, and has 83% market share in discrete GPUs for PCs. And that dominance has been a powerful growth driver. Over the past year, Nvidia's revenue soared 61% to $26.9 billion, and free cash flow skyrocketed 73% to $8.1 billion. More importantly, the metaverse offers yet another growth avenue for this semiconductor company, and Nvidia is already executing on that opportunity.
The recently launched Nvidia Omniverse platform allows 3D creators across industries (e.g., architecture, media, game development) to collaborate in real-time in a shared virtual space. This technology could be used to build virtual landscapes, cities, and accessories within the metaverse. And more recently, Nvidia launched Omniverse Avatar, a platform for building AI-powered digital automatons that can see, listen, talk, and make decisions. This technology could be used to fill the metaverse with non-player characters.
Put simply, there are a lot of reasons to own this stock, and it's not surprising to see JPMorgan buying more. Going forward, Nvidia's strong competitive position in both 3D graphics and AI should make the stock a rewarding long-term investment.
2. Adobe
Software giant Adobe breaks its business into two growth segments: digital media and digital experience. The former includes industry-leading creativity applications like Photoshop and Premiere Pro, as well as digital document applications like Adobe Sign for e-signatures. And the latter includes AI-powered software for analytics, marketing, and commerce.
Of course, Adobe is well-known for its expertise in creativity and design, but the company has also become a powerhouse in other industries. Forrester Research recently named Adobe the leader in enterprise marketing software and content management, and Everest Group recently recognized Adobe's leadership in digital experience platforms. That means the company plays a critical role in helping clients engage consumers and maintain customer loyalty, a value proposition that resonates across virtually every industry.
Collectively, Adobe's arsenal of products has powered impressive financial results. Over the past year, revenue rose 23% to $15.8 billion, driven by solid growth in both its digital media and digital experience segments, and free cash flow jumped 30% to $6.9 billion. But management puts Adobe's total addressable market (TAM) at $205 billion, meaning the company has captured less than 8% of its market opportunity.
Moreover, its TAM should get even bigger as the metaverse continues to evolve. Adobe's marketing and commerce software will be just as relevant in a virtual world as it is in the real world. Likewise, creativity software like Adobe Substance 3D -- a suite of tools for designing and texturizing 3D models, and rendering 3D scenes -- would be useful in building any virtual world. In fact, Substance 3D is one of many software products that will integrate with Nvidia Omniverse.
Given Adobe's broad portfolio of best-in-class products, it's easy to understand why BlackRock added to its position. Over the next decade, Adobe should benefit from tailwinds like digital transformation and the metaverse, and I think this growth stock will deliver market-beating returns.
