Polen Capital, an investment management company, released its “Polen Focus Growth Strategy” third quarter 2024 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. The market turned volatile in the third quarter. In the third quarter, the fund returned 3.21% (gross) and 2.99% (net) compared to 3.19% for the Russell 1000 Growth Index and 5.89% for the S&P 500 Index. In addition, please check the fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2024.
Polen Focus Growth Strategy highlighted stocks like Shopify Inc. (NYSE:SHOP) in its Q3 2024 investor letter. Headquartered in Ottawa, Canada, Shopify Inc. (NYSE:SHOP) provides a cloud-based commerce platform and services. The one-month return of Shopify Inc. (NYSE:SHOP) was 9.84%, and its shares gained 37.35% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On November 11, 2024, Shopify Inc. (NYSE:SHOP) stock closed at $89.99 per share with a market capitalization of $116.308 billion.
Polen Focus Growth Strategy stated the following regarding Shopify Inc. (NYSE:SHOP) in its Q3 2024 investor letter:
“In the third quarter, the top relative contributors to the Portfolio’s performance were NVIDIA (not owned), Shopify Inc. (NYSE:SHOP), and ServiceNow. Shopify, a recent addition to the Portfolio last quarter, was another top contributor. The company reported strong results across the board, allaying concerns around consumer weakness weighing on the business. Gross Merchandise Value (“GMV”) increased 23% year-over-year, driven by strength in same-store sales growth at existing merchants, new merchant growth globally, and omnichannel/offline. Additionally, Shop Pay (Shopify’s checkout service designed to streamline the online shopping process) continues to be a success story rolling out in new countries and should provide a nice tailwind for years to come.”
Shopify Inc. (NYSE:SHOP) is not on our list of 31 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 56 hedge fund portfolios held Shopify Inc. (NYSE:SHOP) at the end of the second quarter which was 65 in the previous quarter. Shopify Inc.’s (NYSE:SHOP) second-quarter revenue was $2 billion, up 21% year-over-year. While we acknowledge the potential of Shopify Inc. (NYSE:SHOP) 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 Shopify Inc. (NYSE:SHOP) and shared Baron Global Advantage Fund’s views on the company. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q3 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.