ClearBridge Investments, an investment management company, released its “ClearBridge Large Cap Growth Strategy” second quarter 2024 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. In the second quarter, the gap in equity leadership narrowed considerably as mega-cap growth stocks reaffirmed their dominance and obscured weakness in most of the market. The S&P 500 Index rose 4.28% while the NASDAQ Composite advanced 8.26% for the period compared to a 3.28% decline for the small-cap Russell 2000 Index. The strategy underperformed its Russell 1000 Growth Index benchmark in the quarter and delivered gains across five of the 10 sectors it invested in, on an absolute basis. The IT was the primary contributor while the consumer staples and industrials detracted from the performance. Overall stock selection and sector allocation detracted from performance, on a relative basis. In addition, please check the fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2024.
ClearBridge Large Cap Growth Strategy highlighted stocks like NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE), in the second quarter 2024 investor letter. NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) designs, develops, and markets athletic footwear, apparel, equipment, and accessories. The one-month return NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) was -21.43%, and its shares lost 28.69% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On July 5, 2024, NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) stock closed at $75.43 per share with a market capitalization of $113.851 billion.
ClearBridge Large Cap Growth Strategy stated the following regarding NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) in its Q2 2024 investor letter:
“Other moves during the quarter included sales of United Parcel Service (UPS) and NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE). Nike has become overly reliant on key platforms, like Jordan, for revenue growth while innovation in areas like running has lagged. Nike could face continued revenue and profit pressure as it invests to re-invigorate innovation and re-position the business back toward wholesale outlets. As such, we are seeking out better ways to participate in the global consumer recovery in companies where earnings estimates have already reset.”
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NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) is not on our list of 31 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 71 hedge fund portfolios held NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) at the end of the first quarter which was 69 in the previous quarter. For the full year fiscal 2024, NIKE, Inc.’s (NYSE:NKE) revenue increased by about 1% on a currency-neutral basis and earnings per share increased by 15%. Fourth quarter revenue was flat. While we acknowledge the potential of NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) 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 NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) in another article and shared the list of best consumer cyclical stocks to buy. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q2 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.