EMJ Capital's Eric Jackson likes these agriculture and nuclear stocks, shares his favorite beaten-down tech names

Published Wed, Apr 20 20221:32 PM EDT

Agriculture technology and nuclear stocks are set to benefit as the global economy reels from Russia's invasion of Ukraine, according to Eric Jackson, EMJ Capital founder and portfolio manager. The war in Ukraine has disrupted the international supply of commodities like oil and wheat. Companies that address these supply shortages could be poised to see a multiyear boom, Jackson said. "There's a consensus view that this fall, we're going to start to see parts of the world dip into famine levels," Jackson said. "It's going to shine a light on questions around food security." "How do we ensure that we can always grow enough to supply our population with its food needs? If there are companies out there that are offering solutions, ... that kind of story is going to be a popular stock to invest in in the coming years," he added. While many agritech businesses are private, Jackson said he likes and owns Appharvest . Appharvest develops and operates high-tech indoor farms. The stock is up 17.9% this year. The investor also likes fertilizer companies as a way to play the agriculture trend. "You just can't grow crops successfully without fertilizer," Jackson said. He named North American fertilizer companies Mosaic , CF Industries and Nutrien as top picks. Mosaic has seen its share price nearly double this year and CF and Nutrien are up more than 46% this year. "They are still, in my eyes, undervalued when you compare them to the kind of a big supercycle commodity boom that happened in 2007, 2008," Jackson said. On the energy side, Jackson is bullish on nuclear as an alternative to oil. "We're still years away from solar and wind being a viable solution. That means we're going to have to lean on fossil fuels and it means we should take ... a real fresh look at nuclear," Jackson said. "From an investment perspective, there are just a real small number of uranium producers out there," he added. The investor highlighted Cameco as his favorite nuclear name. The Canada-based company is the world's largest publicly traded uranium corporation. Cameco shares are up more than 40% this year. The war in Ukraine, along with the Federal Reserve's rate-hiking cycle, have weighed on equity markets this year, particularly in growth-oriented segments. Given the pullback, Jackson also sees opportunity in several beaten-down technology names. "There are a bunch of companies that have been really rerated down ... in my eyes, unfairly so," Jackson said. The investor said he likes Opendoor , Upstart , Carvana and Bill.com .

Agriculture technology and nuclear stocks are set to benefit as the global economy reels from Russia's invasion of Ukraine, according to Eric Jackson, EMJ Capital founder and portfolio manager.