Impax Asset Management, an investment management company, released its “Impax Global Environmental Markets Fund” third quarter 2024 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. The MSCI All Country World Index (MSCI ACWI), which measures global equities, saw gains throughout the quarter as monetary easing by the US and Chinese central banks gave markets additional momentum and offset political and geopolitical unpredictability. A new cycle of rate-cutting in the US started in the last weeks of the quarter, catalysed by improving job and inflation data. The strategy appreciated and outperformed its primary benchmark, the MSCI ACWI during the quarter. The portfolio benefited from a reversal in mega-cap outperformance and improved market breadth in third quarter, following an extended period of extreme market narrowness. In addition, you can check the fund’s top 5 holdings to determine its best picks for 2024.
Impax Global Environmental Markets Fund highlighted stocks like ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML) in the third quarter 2024 investor letter. ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML) is an advanced semiconductor equipment systems manufacturer for chipmakers. The one-month return of ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML) was -2.92%, and its shares lost 2.77% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On December 30, 2024, ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML) stock closed at $696.15 per share with a market capitalization of $281.041 billion.
Impax Global Environmental Markets Fund stated the following regarding ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML) in its Q3 2024 investor letter:
“ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML) (Efficient IT, Netherlands) similarly to other semiconductor production-equipment makers, the share price has been under pressure on speculation the US may impose additional restrictions on China’s access to semiconductors and equipment. In addition, Intel’s results raised investors’ concerns that ASML would be disproportionately affected by a cutback on capex at Intel, which is a significant customer. The investment team believes these concerns are largely overblown given ASML’s dominant position in extreme ultraviolet (EUV ) lithography for advanced chips, which is where current investment is focused.”
A technician in a clean room working on a semiconductor device, illuminated by the machines.
ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML) is not on our list of 31 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 64 hedge fund portfolios held ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML) at the end of the third quarter which was 81 in the previous quarter. While we acknowledge the potential of ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML) 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 ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML) and shared the list of best nanotechnology stocks to buy according to hedge funds. ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML) detracted from American Century Investments International Growth Fund’s performance in Q3 2024, due to investors’ concerns. 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.