Meridian Funds, managed by ArrowMark Partners, released its “Meridian Hedged Equity Fund” first quarter 2024 investor letter. A copy of the same can be downloaded here. Risk assets continued to rise while market volatility remained low in the first quarter, perhaps indicating that investors are becoming somewhat complacent. In the quarter, the fund appreciated 5.46% (net), trailing its benchmark, the S&P 500 Index, which returned 10.56%. Also, the Fund slightly lagged behind its secondary benchmark, the CBOE S&P 500 Buy/Write Index’s 6.02% return. In addition, you can check the top 5 holdings of the fund to know its best picks in 2024.
Meridian Hedged Equity Fund highlighted stocks like Rivian Automotive, Inc. (NASDAQ:RIVN), in the first quarter 2024 investor letter. Rivian Automotive, Inc. (NASDAQ:RIVN) designs, develops, manufactures, and sells electric vehicles and accessories. The one-month return of Rivian Automotive, Inc. (NASDAQ:RIVN) was 34.37%, and its shares lost 7.93% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On June 26, 2024, Rivian Automotive, Inc. (NASDAQ:RIVN) stock closed at $1,441.50 per share with a market capitalization of $35.861 billion.
Meridian Hedged Equity Fund stated the following regarding Rivian Automotive, Inc. (NASDAQ:RIVN) in its first quarter 2024 investor letter:
“Rivian Automotive, Inc. (NASDAQ:RIVN) is a US-based manufacturer of electric vehicles, namely the R1T pickup truck and R1S SUV. They also have exposure to the commercial vehicle market with their electric delivery vans (EDVs) that are sold to companies like Amazon. The company has faced challenges amid the broader slowdown in electric vehicle demand and rising interest rates. This has contributed to Rivian underperforming expectations over the past few quarters. Rivian has also incurred losses as it continues to invest in the development of its products and manufacturing capabilities. We own Rivian in a hedged structure, which provides a significant margin of safety. Despite the near[1]term challenges, several factors provide optimism that Rivian can emerge as a long-term winner in the EV market. Rivian’s balance sheet is strong, with a substantial cash position that enables the company to continue investing in its growth and navigate through the current economic headwinds. Rivian is also unveiling the R2, which is a smaller and more affordable EV platform that will open the company’s products to a wider customer base. Lastly, Rivian’s investment in the enhancement of its production capabilities should improve the company’s manufacturing efficiency and drive a path to profitability. We continue to hold the company in a hedged structure.”
A state-of-the-art electric vehicle charging at a station at a suburban mall.
Rivian Automotive, Inc. (NASDAQ:RIVN) is not on our list of 31 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 26 hedge fund portfolios held Rivian Automotive, Inc. (NASDAQ:RIVN) at the end of the first quarter which was 32 in the previous quarter. While we acknowledge the potential of Rivian Automotive, Inc. (NASDAQ:RIVN) as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter timeframe. If you are looking for an AI stock that is as promising as NVIDIA but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
We discussed Rivian Automotive, Inc. (NASDAQ:RIVN) in another article and shared the list of biggest EV stocks in the world in 2024. Baron Fifth Avenue Growth Fund mentioned in the Q1 2024 investor letter that Rivian Automotive, Inc. (NASDAQ:RIVN) declined by 53.3% in the quarter. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q1 2024 page for more investor letters from hedge funds and other leading investors.
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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.