AI Integration Lifted Apple (AAPL) in Q2

Mar Vista Investment Partners, LLC, an investment management company, released the “Mar Vista Focus strategy” second quarter 2024 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. In the second quarter, the strategy returned +3.74% net of fees compared to +8.34% and +4.28% returns for The Russell 1000 Growth Index and the S&P 500 Index. The strategy’s performance was negatively impacted by the stock selection within the information technology, communication services, and consumer discretionary. Following a robust performance in the first six months, it appears that stocks are poised to enter the second half of the year with strong momentum. The picture is still favorable because of robust corporate profitability, decreasing inflation, and high enterprise spending. Kindly check the top 5 stocks of the strategy to know its best picks in 2024.

Mar Vista Focus 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 3.83%, and its shares gained 23.39% of their value over the last three months. On August 26, 2024, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) stock closed at $227.18 per share with a market capitalization of $3.454 trillion.

Mar Vista Focus strategy stated the following regarding Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) in its Q2 2024 investor letter:

“Investors were reminded of the strength of the Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) ecosystem as management demonstrated how generative AI solutions would be integrated into Apple’s 1.2 billion iPhone installed base. Apple plans to integrate generative AI features into its iOS 18, which will be broadly released in the fall with the iPhone 16. We believe Apple should benefit from generative AI as it will spur a meaningful iPhone upgrade cycle and create new avenues of monetization through its app store and advertising offerings. We believe this will support intrinsic value growth that will range between high-single-digits and low-double-digits over our investment horizon.”

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Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is in 9th position on our list of 31 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 184 hedge fund portfolios held Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) at the end of the second quarter which was 150 in the previous quarter. In the June quarter Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) delivered $85.8 billion in revenues, up 5% from a year ago. 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 the top AI news and analyst ratings you should not miss. In the second quarter of 2024, New York-based investment advisor Third Point Management initiated a position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) and expressed confidence in the stock’s considerable upside potential. 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.