Believe it or not, most professional investors are wary of revealing their highest conviction ASX share in public.
There are some good reasons why this is so.
It could be because they want to keep it as a secret sauce for their fund. Or because they don't want to be embarrassed later if the stock tanks.
So when an expert singles out one particular company as the best stock to own this year, you have to admire his or her courage.
And that's exactly what we saw with Shaw and Partners senior investment advisor Adam Dawes this week:
Global copper shortage is imminent
Dawes, appearing on Switzer TV Investing, was asked for his "best stock for 2023".
And in a show of consistency, it was the same stock he was bullish about in December.
"Any real exposure to copper is probably the best thing on our market now that OZ Minerals Limited (ASX: OZL) will leave to go to BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP)," he said.
"We think Sandfire Resources Ltd (ASX: SFR) is one of the best stocks that you could put in the portfolio for 2023."
Dawes conceded the Sandfire share price has already rallied in recent weeks due to the coming global copper shortage.
In fact, the stock has rocketed 26.5% since the start of December.
"But I still think there's room to move with Sandfire," said Dawes.
"They've got a mine in Botswana, they've got a mine in Spain. I think Sandfire is naturally going to attract a lot of the capital that was going to Oz Minerals."
The structural growth themes for copper demand remain irresistible to Dawes.
"Staying with battery metals, staying with that green theme, and a little bit further down the supply chain. SFR is my best pick for 2023."
Plenty of other professionals are also excited about Sandfire's future.
According to CMC Markets, seven out of 13 analysts recommend the stock as a strong buy. However, three of the others do think it's a strong sell.
Maqro Capital head of trading Mark Gardner this week also named Sandfire Resources as one of three ASX shares he would target to cash in on the copper shortage.
