ClearBridge Mid Cap Strategy Sold Ashland (ASH) in Q1 Amid Sluggish End Markets

ClearBridge Investments, an investment management company, released its “ClearBridge Mid Cap Strategy” first quarter 2025 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. Though initially positive, stories on possible tariffs, global trade conflict, and a rotation out of AI-related tech firms sent equities lower in the first quarter. In this environment, the ClearBridge Mid Cap Strategy underperformed the benchmark, Russell Midcap Index in the quarter, due to idiosyncratic headwinds, strengthened by the market volatility; put pressure on several of strategy’s technology and industrial holdings. In addition, please check the fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2025.

In its first quarter 2025 investor letter, ClearBridge Mid Cap Strategy emphasized stocks such as Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH). Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) offers additives and specialty ingredients that operates through Life Sciences, Personal Care, Specialty Additives, and Intermediates segments. The one-month return of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) was -14.84%, and its shares lost 48.98% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On April 10, 2025, Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) stock closed at $48.59 per share with a market capitalization of $2.293 billion.

ClearBridge Mid Cap Strategy stated the following regarding Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) in its Q1 2025 investor letter:

“We exited our position in chemical manufacturer Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH). While we were optimistic about the end of destocking trends and a rebound in demand, the company continues to face sluggish end markets without signs of improvement.”

Is Manulife Financial Corporation (MFC) the Undervalued Canadian Stock to Buy Now?

A chemist in a laboratory mixing specialty chemicals and materials for research.

Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 24 hedge fund portfolios held Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) at the end of the third quarter which was 25 in the previous quarter. Ashland Inc.’s (NYSE:ASH) fiscal first quarter sales decreased 14% from the prior year’s quarter to $405 million. While we acknowledge the potential of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) 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.

We covered Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) in another article, where we shared the list of stocks that are about to explode. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q1 2025 page for more investor letters from hedge funds and other leading investors.

READ NEXT: Michael Burry Is Selling These Stocks and A New Dawn Is Coming to US Stocks.

Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.