Ariel Investments, an investment management company, released its “Ariel Appreciation Fund” second-quarter 2024 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. The bull market surged in the second quarter, driven by investor enthusiasm for artificial intelligence (AI) themed stocks. This narrow, momentum-driven rally helped the S&P 500 achieve a modest gain, despite declines in Mid- and Small-Cap companies. The Ariel Appreciation fund fell -6.56% in the quarter, trailing the -3.40% and -3.35% returns of the Russell Midcap Value and Russell Midcap indices. In addition, please check the fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2024.
Ariel Appreciation Fund highlighted stocks like Stericycle, Inc. (NASDAQ:SRCL), in the second quarter 2024 investor letter. Stericycle, Inc. (NASDAQ:SRCL) regulated waste and compliance services provider. The one-month return of Stericycle, Inc. (NASDAQ:SRCL) was 0.20%, and its shares gained 33.16% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On August 27, 2024, Stericycle, Inc. (NASDAQ:SRCL) stock closed at $58.67 per share with a market capitalization of $5.447 billion.
Ariel Appreciation Fund stated the following regarding Stericycle, Inc. (NASDAQ:SRCL) in its Q2 2024 investor letter:
“Additionally, shares of waste management services provider Stericycle, Inc. (NASDAQ:SRCL) accelerated following the announcement of the company’s agreement to be acquired by Waste Management, Inc. (WM). The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter, subject to stockholder and regulatory approval.”
A team of waste management experts inspecting a stack of hazardous waste barrels.
Stericycle, Inc. (NASDAQ:SRCL) is not on our list of 31 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 46 hedge fund portfolios held Stericycle, Inc. (NASDAQ:SRCL) at the end of the second quarter which was 23 in the previous quarter. While we acknowledge the potential of Stericycle, Inc. (NASDAQ:SRCL) 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 Stericycle, Inc. (NASDAQ:SRCL) and shared Heartland Mid Cap Value Fund’s views on the company. 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.