Institutional ticker directory tracking stock mentions, long/short ideas, and high-conviction pitches extracted from quarterly hedge fund letters.
| Ticker | Company | Sector | Industry | Pitches | Stance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fund / Manager | Thesis Excerpt | Stance | Period / Date | Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Baron Partners Fund Ron Baron | “CoStar Group, Inc. is the leading provider of information and marketing services to the commercial and residential real estate industries. Shares fell due to multiple compression driven by rising AI fears. The market has increasingly come to view AI as an existential risk for a growing number of industries, including software, business services, information services, and video games. While there is little evidence of any fundamental impact on these sectors, investors have largely adopted a 'shoot first and ask questions later' approach, leading to significant stock price declines. We continue to own CoStar due to its enviable business model, differentiated data assets, and meaningful growth opportunities in providing enhanced real estate information, analytics, and marketplace offerings. The company also maintains a substantial cash balance, which we are hopeful will be used to aggressively repurchase shares at current depressed valuation levels.” | NEUTRAL | Q2 2026 Aug 14, 2026 | View Pitch |
Baron Partners Fund Ron Baron | “CoStar Group, Inc. is the leading provider of information and marketing services to the commercial and residential real estate industries. Shares fell due to multiple compression driven by rising fears related to AI's impact on CoStar's business. The market has increasingly come to view AI as an existential risk for a growing number of industries, including software, business services, information services, and video games. While there is little evidence of any fundamental impact on these sectors, investors have largely adopted a 'shoot first and ask questions later' approach, leading to significant stock price declines. We continue to own CoStar due to its enviable business model, differentiated data assets, and meaningful growth opportunities in providing enhanced real estate information, analytics, and marketplace offerings. The company also maintains a substantial cash balance, which we are hopeful will be used to aggressively repurchase shares at current depressed valuation levels.” | NEUTRAL | Q2 2026 Aug 12, 2026 | View Pitch |
Baron Focused Growth Fund David Baron, Ron Baron | “CoStar Group, Inc. is the leading provider of information and marketing services to the commercial and residential real estate industries. Shares fell due to multiple compression driven by rising AI fears. The market has increasingly come to view AI as an existential risk for a growing number of industries, including software, business services, information services, and video games. While there is little evidence of any fundamental impact on these sectors, investors have largely adopted a 'shoot first and ask questions later' approach, leading to significant stock price declines. We continue to own CoStar due to its enviable business model, differentiated data assets, and meaningful growth opportunities in providing enhanced real estate information, analytics, and marketplace offerings. The company also maintains a substantial cash balance, which we are hopeful will be used to aggressively repurchase shares at current depressed valuation levels.” | NEUTRAL | Q2 2026 Aug 11, 2026 | View Pitch |
Baron Opportunity Fund Michael Lippert | “We elected to exit our position in real estate information and marketing services provider CoStar Group, Inc. after a successful multi-decade investment. Performance has been challenged over the past several years as the company has invested aggressively to build out its Homes.com residential real estate marketing platform. Revenue traction for Homes.com has been slow to materialize, and we are concerned that recent shifts in market structure will make it incrementally more difficult for CoStar to grow a residential business commensurate with its level of investment. Shares have also been pressured by the sector-wide AI disruption concerns weighing on the broader software and information services ecosystem.” | NEUTRAL | Q2 2026 Aug 6, 2026 | View Pitch |
Polen Capital - Focus Growth Dan Davidowitz | “CoStar Group was again a meaningful detractor during the quarter as investors continued to focus on their elevated Homes.com investment, the timing of margin recovery, and the broader pressure on software and information-based businesses. This was frustrating for us, particularly after we added to the position in the first quarter, but our conviction remains intact. The business continues to perform well, with strong revenue growth, healthy bookings, improving profitability, and continued Homes.com momentum. We acknowledge the market's concern around the scale and duration of Homes.com spending, but believe CoStar's proprietary real estate data, deep domain expertise, and leading market positions are not easily replicated. In our view, the debate is less about business quality and more about how long investors are willing to wait for Homes.com to translate into more visible earnings power. We continue to believe this is temporary and expect CoStar to be one of, if not the fastest growing company in the Portfolio over the next 3 to 5 years based on earnings per share.” | NEUTRAL | Q2 2026 Jul 30, 2026 | View Pitch |
Spyglass Growth Strategy James A. Robillard | “CoStar Group, Inc. (CSGP), a provider of software solutions in the global real estate industry, was a bottom contributor during the second quarter. CoStar reported first-quarter results that surpassed consensus expectations for both revenue and profitability, marking the 60th consecutive quarter of double-digit revenue growth. While we viewed the quarterly results positively, we believe the market focused on softer net new bookings which weighed on shares. We remain focused on Homes.com subscriber growth as a key component of our long-term model. We believe the stock is trading at a meaningful discount to a conservative set of expectations, but given the sustained underperformance of the stock, we continue to perform enhanced due diligence on the Company.” | BULL | Q2 2026 Jul 28, 2026 | View Pitch |
TimesSquare Capital Management U.S. Mid Cap Growth Strategy TimesSquare Capital Management LLC | “CoStar Group, Inc. (CSGP), a provider of software solutions in the global real estate industry, was a bottom contributor during the second quarter. CoStar reported first-quarter results that surpassed consensus expectations for both revenue and profitability, marking the 60th consecutive quarter of double-digit revenue growth. While we viewed the quarterly results positively, we believe the market focused on softer net new bookings which weighed on shares. We remain focused on Homes.com subscriber growth as a key component of our long-term model. We believe the stock is trading at a meaningful discount to a conservative set of expectations, but given the sustained underperformance of the stock, we continue to perform enhanced due diligence on the Company.” | BULL | Q2 2026 Jul 21, 2026 | View Pitch |
Spyglass Capital Management Portfolio Manager | “Despite delivering its 60th straight quarter of double-digit revenue growth, CoStar's stock fell due to softer net new bookings. The manager remains focused on Homes.com subscriber growth and views the stock as trading at a significant discount, prompting them to add to the position while conducting deeper due diligence.” | BULL | Q2 2026 Jun 30, 2026 | View Pitch |
Spyglass Capital Management Portfolio Manager | “The real estate software provider delivered strong results but faced pressure due to a conservative forward outlook. Underneath, the company continues to demonstrate high-quality growth with double-digit revenue expansion and strong Homes.com subscriber trends.” | BULL | Q1 2026 Mar 31, 2026 | View Pitch |
ClearBridge Investment Value Strategy Sam Peters, Reed Cassady, Jean Yu | “Last year we invested in CoStar with a simple thesis: value in the company's core commercial business could be unlocked by improving a deficient board that for years had blessed large investments in a failing venture, Homes.com. Despite our efforts, CEO Andy Florance has continued what can only be seen as a reckless drain on a majority of the company's operating income into Homes.com and related acquisitions even as the share price has continued to plummet. It appears to us that Mr. Florance's obsession with Homes.com has diverted attention from core business areas, calling into question management's ability to maintain a competitive edge in Apartments.com and the CoStar Suite in a rapidly changing market and with no apparent plan for a world increasingly shaped by AI. When we suggested earlier this year that additional change was needed at the Board level, the Company responded by further entrenching Mr. Florance with a "golden parachute," changing its reporting structure to seemingly obscure Homes.com's woeful financial performance within a newly created segment, and engaging in an aggressive PR campaign against certain of its own concerned owners. We no longer believe that our original thesis holds true today and have disposed of our position in its entirety. BSD Analysis: Third Point's exit from CoStar represents a failed activist campaign where management entrenchment ultimately prevailed over shareholder concerns. The original thesis focused on unlocking value in CoStar's profitable commercial real estate business by curtailing losses from the struggling Homes.com venture. However, CEO Andy Florance continued aggressive investment in Homes.com despite poor performance, draining operating income from core businesses. Third Point argues this misallocation has compromised CoStar's competitive position in Apartments.com and CoStar Suite, particularly concerning given the lack of AI strategy in a rapidly evolving market. Management's defensive response included implementing a golden parachute for Florance, restructuring reporting to obscure Homes.com losses, and launching PR campaigns against concerned shareholders. The complete position exit signals Third Point's conclusion that the governance issues are intractable and value creation unlikely under current leadership.” | BULL | Q1 2026 Mar 31, 2026 | View Pitch |
Spyglass Capital Management Portfolio Manager | “Despite positive Homes.com bookings and a long history of beating earnings estimates, shares dipped on fears that Google's new home ad tests pose competitive threats. The manager expects experienced corporate leadership to effectively address these challenges.” | BULL | Q4 2025 Dec 31, 2025 | View Pitch |
Baron Partners Fund Ron Baron | “CoStar Group, Inc. is the leading provider of information and marketing services to the commercial and residential real estate industries. Shares fell as the company's net new sales came in below expectations. The stock has been weighed down by significant growth investment in CoStar's residential product, where sales performance has remained modest. That said, we are encouraged by improving momentum as the company builds out its dedicated residential sales force, enhances its customer targeting, and potentially benefits from changes in Multiple Listing Service practices. We also expect growth in CoStar's non-residential business to accelerate as sales productivity ramps and the sales team refocuses on core offerings, a trend likely to be amplified by 20% sales force growth in 2025 alone. We believe the value of CoStar's core non-residential business exceeds the current share price of the stock, suggesting that investors are ascribing little value to the long-term residential opportunity. BSD Analysis: CoStar Group has transitioned from "growth at any cost" to a disciplined "burn-down schedule" for its residential portal, Homes.com. The company's fiscal year 2026 guidance projects revenue between $3.78 billion and $3.82 billion, with adjusted EBITDA forecasted at $740 million to $800 million. A critical catalyst for 2026 is the planned $300 million reduction in net investment for Homes.com (down from $850 million in 2025), with a target for the platform to reach positive adjusted EBITDA by 2030. Despite a high P/E ratio, the firm maintains a "fortress" balance sheet with a current ratio of 3.12 and a gross margin of nearly 80%. Investors are closely watching for proof that the core subscription business remains resilient while Homes.com scales with lower spending.” | BULL | Q4 2025 Dec 31, 2025 | View Pitch |
Baron Focused Growth Fund David Baron, Ron Baron | “CoStar declined by 20.3% in the fourth quarter and detracted 93 bps from performance as investors were concerned with a deceleration of growth in its core commercial real estate business and a slower-than-expected ramp of its residential business. However, we believe daily active users on its Homes.com platform should accelerate this year as its marketing investments begin to generate returns. Monthly active users have already reached 110 million and compare to Zillow's 250 million users. This is positive as CoStar is demonstrating that it can drive meaningful traffic growth to its platform. We believe the acceleration in investment over the past two years should drive organic growth on its Homes.com platform and expand the company's addressable market. We believe investors are currently attributing negative equity value to this. Over the next five years, we believe CoStar's residential investment could add at least $1 billion to annualized revenue at a significantly accretive margin. This would result in a 33% increase in today's $3 billion in revenue and an approximate 50% increase in EBITDA. Longer term, we believe this investment opportunity is several multiples of $1 billion of revenue. CoStar continues to hire new people for its commercial real estate sales business and should begin to see a rebound in net new bookings this year with continued strength in its retention rates, despite implementing price increases across its suite of products. It continues to have a strong balance sheet, with $2 billion of cash and just $1 billion of debt. We are not concerned with its residential investment and believe it should generate strong returns over time. BSD Analysis: CoStar owns the data backbone of commercial real estate, a market that literally cannot function without accurate information. Pricing power exists because customers rely on CoStar to make six- and seven-figure decisions, not casual searches. Investors fixate on housing initiatives and near-term spending and miss the durability of the core CRE franchise. Switching costs are cultural and professional, not technical. LoopNet and Homes.com add optionality without threatening the tollbooth economics. Margins normalize once investment phases end. This is data gravity monetized through necessity, not hype.” | BULL | Q4 2025 Dec 31, 2025 | View Pitch |
Baron Durable Advantage Fund Alex Umansky | “CoStar Group, Inc. is the leading provider of information and marketing services to the commercial and residential real estate industries. Shares fell 20.4% in the fourth quarter (and down 6.1% for the year) as the company's net new sales came in below expectations. The stock has been weighed down by significant growth investment in CoStar's residential product, where sales performance has remained modest. That said, we are encouraged by improving momentum as the company builds out its dedicated residential sales force, enhances its customer targeting, and potentially benefits from changes in Multiple Listing Service practices. We also expect growth in CoStar's non-residential business to accelerate as sales productivity ramps and the sales team refocuses on core offerings, a trend likely to be amplified by 20% sales force growth in 2025 alone. We believe the value of CoStar's core non-residential business exceeds the current share price of the stock, suggesting that investors are ascribing little value to the long-term residential opportunity. BSD Analysis: CoStar Group enters 2026 with a bold strategic shift, recently announcing a $1.5 billion share repurchase program and a planned $300 million reduction in net investment for its Homes.com platform. Management projects 2026 revenue to reach approximately $3.8 billion, representing a significant 18% increase over 2025 targets. The company is successfully transitioning from its heavy investment phase to a focus on margin expansion, with adjusted EBITDA expected to surge by 83% to nearly $800 million. While the stock currently trades at a high earnings multiple, its core commercial real estate data business continues to deliver industry-leading EBITDA margins of 47%. Analysts maintain a "Buy" rating, pointing to low double-digit organic revenue growth and improved absorption in the U.S. office market as primary catalysts. For 2026, the focus will be on the company's ability to achieve its medium-term goal of $1.25 billion in adjusted EBITDA by 2028.” | BULL | Q4 2025 Dec 31, 2025 | View Pitch |
Baron Real Estate Fund Jeff Kolitch | “The shares of CoStar Group, Inc. declined in the fourth quarter due to concerns that the company's residential Homes.com platform will continue to require significant capital investment and competitive worries related to new real estate advertising formats and AI partnerships by competitors. Investors also appear worried that CoStar's Apartments.com business may face increased competition due to lower-priced alternatives. While management addressed capital allocation, spending reductions, and buybacks, uncertainty remains. Despite this, we believe concerns are overblown and largely factored into the share price, with the commercial business valued at less than 20 times estimated 2026 cash flow. BSD Analysis: CoStar is the information monopoly of commercial real estate, even when the industry itself is under pressure. Its data is mission-critical for brokers, investors, and lenders who can't afford bad information. Subscription revenue is sticky because switching means flying blind. Apartments.com and residential platforms add optionality beyond core CRE data. Growth has slowed with transaction volumes, but relevance hasn't. Margins reflect scale and pricing power. Management reinvests aggressively, sometimes frustratingly so. This is not a media business. It's real estate intelligence infrastructure that compounds when confidence returns.” | BULL | Q4 2025 Dec 31, 2025 | View Pitch |
Conestoga Mid Cap Composite Conestoga Capital Advisors, LLC | “CoStar Group, Inc. (CSGP) experienced share price pressure due to heavy investment in its Homes.com platform. Elevated marketing spend weighed on near-term profitability, while Apartment.com bookings disappointed expectations. Investor concerns were amplified by reports that large technology platforms could enter residential listings. While management views residential expansion as a long-term growth opportunity, the investment burden reduced near-term earnings visibility. Sentiment reflected margin pressure rather than asset quality. BSD Analysis: CoStar is the data monopoly of commercial real estate, even while CRE sentiment collapses. Transaction volumes swing, but data subscriptions are sticky because professionals can't operate blind. The company reinvests aggressively, which depresses margins but deepens the moat. Residential expansion through Homes.com is expensive but strategic. Investors worry about near-term ROIC instead of long-term dominance. CRE distress actually increases demand for high-quality data. Switching costs are cultural as much as technical. CoStar doesn't optimize for quarters; it optimizes for inevitability. This is information infrastructure priced like a cyclical.” | BULL | Q4 2025 Dec 31, 2025 | View Pitch |
Baron Growth Fund Neal Rosenberg | “CoStar Group is recovering from a period of heavy upfront investments in its residential Homes.com marketplace, which previously weighed on the stock price. Management has optimized its sales force, allowing commercial salespeople to focus on core markets while hiring a specialized team to drive residential platform expansion. The underlying commercial business remains highly valuable, suggesting the market currently undervalues the residential growth optionality.” | BULL | Q1 2025 Mar 31, 2025 | View Pitch |
Andvari Associates Douglas Ott | “CoStar Group continues to deliver strong revenue growth across all primary business lines, driven by its proprietary data tools and the high-growth residential platform Homes.com. The company has constructed a massive database curated by thousands of researchers, creating a dominant intellectual property moat. This market dominance allows CoStar to successfully protect its valuable data and command exceptional long-term pricing power.” | BULL | Q4 2024 Jan 20, 2025 | View Pitch |
Baron Growth Fund Neal Rosenberg | “CoStar suffered from software valuation compression and concerns over residential adoption pace following strong initial monetization. Management remains bullish given a $15 billion domestic residential addressable market and tailwinds from recent real estate industry legal settlements.” | BULL | Q2 2024 Jun 30, 2024 | View Pitch |
Vulcan Value Partners - Large Cap C.T. Fitzpatrick | “CoStar experienced strong financial performance, delivering substantial revenue growth, strong free cash flow, and earnings that beat guidance. The company continues to expand its market share across its broad suite of products, which should support long-term margins and earnings growth. The manager used stock price volatility in early 2023 to add to the position.” | BULL | Q2 2023 Jun 30, 2023 | View Pitch |
Each excerpt above is the manager's commentary on this ticker specifically. The full letter has the rest of their portfolio thinking, risk discussion, and broader institutional context.
