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 Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) in the second quarter 2024 investor letter. Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) offers drug discovery, non-clinical development, and safety testing services that operates through Research Models and Services (RMS), Discovery and Safety Assessment (DSA), and Manufacturing Solutions (Manufacturing) segments. The one-month return of Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) was -16.71%, and its shares lost 3.04% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On August 27, 2024, Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) stock closed at $203.30 per share with a market capitalization of $10.497 billion.
Ariel Appreciation Fund stated the following regarding Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) in its Q2 2024 investor letter:
“Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL), which provides products and services to the drug discovery and research marketplace also declined. Its shares traded lower alongside peers due to a more cautious funding environment for early-stage research and development programs. Nonetheless, CRL delivered a solid earnings beat, highlighted by top-line growth in both the research models and services (RMS) and manufacturing solutions segments, partially offset by weakness in discovery and safety assessment (DSA). Additionally, management reiterated full year guidance and noted early signs of a DSA recovery. While it will take time for proposal activity and funding to translate into new DSA bookings and revenue generation, CRL believes the fundamentals for the biopharmaceutical industry remain intact. Meanwhile, we expect the global focus on scientific innovation will continue to drive solid demand for CRL’s research models and services, with underlying growth trends supporting margin expansion. CRL is also investing in its scientific capabilities for cell and gene therapies, which we believe will further enhance long term value creation for shareholders.”
A laboratory scientist surrounded by drug-discovery equipment and resources.
Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) is not on our list of 31 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 42 hedge fund portfolios held Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) at the end of the second quarter which was 49 in the previous quarter. In the second quarter, Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) delivered $1.03 billion in revenue, representing a 3.2% decline from Q2 2023. While we acknowledge the potential of Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) 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 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.
