RiverPark Advisors, an investment advisory firm and sponsor of the RiverPark family of mutual funds, released its “RiverPark Large Growth Fund” first quarter 2024 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. During the first quarter, the markets performed strongly. The Russell 1000 Growth Index (RLG) and the S&P 500 index returned 11.41% and 10.56%, respectively during the quarter and RPX returned 9.20%. The monthly inflation readings in the first quarter exceeded market expectations. A couple of megatrends that drove the markets higher were GLP-1 weight loss drugs and everything related to artificial intelligence (AI). In addition, please check the fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2024.
RiverPark Large Growth Fund highlighted stocks like NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE), in the first quarter 2024 investor letter. NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) designs, develops, and markets athletic footwear, apparel, equipment, and accessories. The one-month return NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) was 1.41%, and its shares lost 13.30% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On May 30, 2024, NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) stock closed at $93.45 per share with a market capitalization of $141.05 billion.
RiverPark Large Growth Fund stated the following regarding NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) in its first quarter 2024 investor letter:
“NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE): NKE shares were a top detractor in the quarter following fiscal second quarter earnings that beat expectations, but guidance that was materially below expectations. NIKE delivered 0.9% constant currency growth (roughly in line with expectations), 14.2% EBIT margins (well ahead of street consensus of 11.2%) and generated better than expected earnings of $1.03 (investors were looking for $0.84). Despite these strong results, the company substantially lowered expectations for the second half of its fiscal year (1% revenue growth versus expectations of 5%+) due to FX headwinds, slower global economic activity (China and EMEA mostly), slower digital growth, and a delay of key product launches as the company changes its product franchise life cycle management approach.
Nike is, by far, the leading athletic footwear, apparel, and equipment company in the world with over $50 billion in revenue, $4.9 billion in 2023 annual free cash flow, and $10 billion of excess cash. We believe that over the long term, the global secular growth trend towards active wear will continue to aid Nike’s top-line growth, while we expect gross and operating margin improvements as it shifts its product mix to more premium products and adopts a more direct to consumer approach, driving long-term mid-teens or higher annual EPS growth for the foreseeable future. In the short term, we believe that the company will work through the above headwinds and that revenue and earnings growth will reaccelerate in the next 12 months.”
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NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 71 hedge fund portfolios held NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) at the end of the first quarter which was 69 in the previous quarter.
In another article, we discussed NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) and shared the list of luxury clothing stocks to invest in. Polen Focus Growth Strategy commented about NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) in the first quarter investor letter. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q1 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.
