Polen Capital, an investment management company, released its “Polen Focus Growth Strategy” second quarter 2024 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. In the second quarter, the fund returned -0.11% (gross) and -0.31% (net) compared to 8.33% for the Russell 1000 Growth Index and 4.28% for the S&P 500 Index. Generative AI (GenAI) remains the dominant market narrative in the second quarter. The portfolio does not own NVIDIA or other Semiconductor companies that are presently benefitting from the demand for AI hardware. However, with the portfolio’s extensive investment in software and IT services, the firm anticipates that GenAI’s long-term economic gains will go to these industries. In addition, please check the fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2024.
Polen Focus Growth Strategy highlighted stocks like Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), in the second quarter 2024 investor letter. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is an American multinational company that designs, manufactures, and markets smartphones, personal computers, tablets, wearables, and accessories. The one-month return of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) was 7.77%, and its shares gained 16.37% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On July 19, 2024, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) stock closed at $224.31 per share with a market capitalization of $3.44 trillion.
Polen Focus Growth Strategy stated the following regarding Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) in its Q2 2024 investor letter:
“The largest relative detractors in the quarter were NVIDIA, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), and Salesforce. In a reversal from some of the concerns driving the stock down in the first quarter, Apple re-emerged as a top performer in the second quarter. The company reported better-than-feared results in its iPhone segment that quelled concerns over weakness in China. Additionally, the company forecast a return to sales growth and announced a $110 billion stock buyback plan, the largest in U.S. history. Later in the period, at its Worldwide Developers Conference, Apple introduced long-awaited new AI features that spurred some optimism around an upgrade cycle for the iPhone and, more generally, the important role Apple may be able to play in the emerging AI landscape. We continue to study Apple closely, which we previously owned the company for many years during its growth phase, to determine if it is poised for another significant revenue and earnings growth period.”
An Apple store displaying the latest in consumer electronics, from smartphones to wearables.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is in 9th position on our list of 31 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 150 hedge fund portfolios held Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) at the end of the first quarter which was 131 in the previous quarter. While we acknowledge the potential of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) 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.
In another article, we discussed Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) and shared Wedgewood Partners’ views on the company. In the previous quarter, the absence of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) in the portfolio contributed to the relative performance of the Polen Global Growth Strategy. 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.