Artisan Partners, an investment management company, released its “Artisan Small Cap Fund” third quarter 2023 investor letter. A copy of the same can be downloaded here. In the third quarter, its Investor Class fund ARTSX returned -7.98%, Advisor Class fund APDSX posted a return of -7.96%, and Institutional Class fund APHSX returned -7.97%, compared to a return of -7.32% for the Russell 2000 Growth Index. From a sector perspective, allocation impacts drove the sector’s underperformance, while security selection was positive. From an allocation perspective, the portfolio was hurt by its lack of exposure to energy and overweight exposure to health care. In addition, please check the fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2023.
Artisan Small Cap Fund highlighted stocks like Exact Sciences Corporation (NASDAQ:EXAS) in the third quarter 2023 investor letter. Headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin, Exact Sciences Corporation (NASDAQ:EXAS) provides cancer screening and diagnostic test products. On November 30, 2023, Exact Sciences Corporation (NASDAQ:EXAS) stock closed at $64.00 per share. One-month return of Exact Sciences Corporation (NASDAQ:EXAS) was -4.51%, and its shares gained 38.05% of their value over the last 52 weeks. Exact Sciences Corporation (NASDAQ:EXAS) has a market capitalization of $11.574 billion.
Artisan Small Cap Fund made the following comment about Exact Sciences Corporation (NASDAQ:EXAS) in its Q3 2023 investor letter:
“Among our top detractors were Lattice Semiconductor, Shockwave and Exact Sciences Corporation (NASDAQ:EXAS). Exact Sciences is a leading provider of diagnostic testing and maker of the noninvasive colorectal cancer screening test Cologuard®. The stock was a top performer through the first half of the year but pulled back in Q3. The company reported strong financial results as 31% growth in screening revenues (mostly Cologuard®) drove an overall 19% revenue increase. However, screening revenues fell slightly short of elevated expectations and were not good enough to support the stock’s year-to-date outperformance. We continue to be bullish on Cologuard’s® long-term growth potential; the addressable market expanded significantly in 2021 when the United States Preventive Services Task Force lowered the recommended age for colorectal cancer screenings to 45 from 50. Our research indicates the lowered screening age expands the company’s addressable market by ~18 million unscreened individuals. We also believe meaningful long[1]term opportunities exist as the company develops additional high-value cancer tests.”
A close-up of a medical professional in a laboratory working on personalized cancer care.
Exact Sciences Corporation (NASDAQ:EXAS) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 45 hedge fund portfolios held Exact Sciences Corporation (NASDAQ:EXAS) at the end of third quarter which was 45 in the previous quarter.
We discussed Exact Sciences Corporation (NASDAQ:EXAS) in another article and shared the list of stocks with consistent growth. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q3 2023 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.
