RiverPark Funds, an investment management firm, published its “RiverPark Wedgewood Fund” second quarter 2022 investor letter – a copy of which can be downloaded here. For the second quarter of 2022, the Fund declined by -17.4%. The S&P 500 Index declined by -16.1%. The Russell 1000 Growth Index declined by -20.9% while the Russell 1000 Value Index declined by -12.2%. Go over the fund’s top 5 positions to have a glimpse of its finest picks for 2022.
In its Q2 2022 investor letter, RiverPark Wedgewood Fund mentioned Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) and explained its insights for the company. Founded in 1971, Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) is a Seattle, Washington-based coffeehouse company with a $99.9 billion market capitalization. Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) delivered a -25.53% return since the beginning of the year, while its 12-month returns are down by -22.34%. The stock closed at $87.11 per share on September 29, 2022.
Here is what RiverPark Wedgewood Fund has to say about Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) in its Q2 2022 investor letter:
“We exited our position in Starbucks during the second quarter. We do not mind admitting that there was a heated internal debate over this position, as there were several conflicting issues to weigh in our decision. Before the pandemic, we had been quite happy with the Company’s execution and the stock’s performance, and we were likewise happy with strategic decisions made during and immediately after the initial pandemic-related lockdowns in 2020, as we have written previously.
Despite our appreciation for the Company’s execution during this period, it was dealing with some concerning issues. First, as a business reliant upon stores being open, the Company faced continuing risks from rolling pandemic-related lockdowns, particularly in China, which is the Company’s second largest and fastest-growing market. A second and related issue was employee illness; even as stores were open, various pandemic waves (Omicron, for example) caused many employees to miss shifts, making it very difficult and expensive for Starbucks to keep its stores staffed properly…”
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Our calculations show that Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) fell short and didn’t make it on our list of the 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) was in 55 hedge fund portfolios at the end of the second quarter of 2022, compared to 58 funds in the previous quarter. Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) delivered a 13.97% return in the past 3 months.
In September 2022, we also shared another hedge fund’s views on Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) in another article. You can find other investor letters from hedge funds and prominent investors on our hedge fund investor letters 2022 Q2 page.
Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.