#23: F5 Networks' Transformation, Or What Makes A Compelling Growth (Or Value?) Pitch

We flip the script. Daniel pitches Akram on a new idea - f5 Networks - and Akram plays the role of portfolio manager, hearing out and testing the thesis. While Daniel might hope you like the idea itself, this episode should be a little more educational, as we break down what makes it a good or not-so good pitch, what's missing, and what could go into the thesis next. It also highlights a lot of the challenges in both growth and value investing.We do get into other ideas, including Dropbox, and into the state of the market and whether the Alteryx report is a warning sign.Topics Covered3:30 minute mark - What brought us to f5?6:30 - The long case for F510:30 - How the ADC market used to size up 7:0013:45 – The inflection point for f516:00 – What is the future of the ADC21:00 – What is the competition24:30 The nature of service revenues28:30 – What is it exactly that f5 does here33:00 – Revisiting value and what does a low multiple mean, and the Alteryx report39:00 – When the numbers aren’t enough42:45 – The research process47:30 – The limits of value investing49:30 – Dropbox as another example55:30 – Growth vs. value, or story vs. numbers59:30 – Studying Tesla1:04:30 – Alteryx – exception or warning?1:10:45 – The hunt for the coming inflection1:15:30 – Covid-19 Bull market geniuses and the market climate1:22:30 – IPOs vs. SPACs and what that says about where we areReading materials:Full pitch on Seeking Alpha: https://seekingalpha.com/article/4369321 What Makes Stocks Go Up: https://dubra.substack.com/p/the-anatomy-of-stocks-that-go-upLife Magazine - "New Kid On The Street" (scroll to 62a):  https://books.google.es/books?id=bU8EAAAAMBAJ&printsec=frontcover&hl=es&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=falseDropbox: The First Dead Decacorn - https://alexdanco.com/2015/08/24/dropbox-the-first-dead-decacorn/

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The Razor’s Edge is an investing podcast that combines a prop trader’s viewpoint and deep-dive fundamental research to provide a unique take on the markets. The show is co-hosted by Akram’s Razor, a trader and investor with decades of experience and a track record of truly differentiated ideas and analysis, and by Daniel Shvartsman, an individual investor for the past decade who saw thousands of investing pitches and ideas and how they played out during his previous time at Seeking Alpha. The duo start with a theme or idea from Akram’s investing, then break it down to understand what goes into the idea, what could go wrong, and what else investors and traders need to know. They also interview industry leaders, executives, and other investors to get a wider perspective. The show has thousands of listeners around the world.