Artisan Partners, an investment management company, released its “Artisan Mid Cap Value Fund” fourth quarter 2024 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. The Russell Midcap® Value Index ended Q4 somewhat lower, down -1.75%, after posting robust gains in Q3. The index provided a 13.07% return for the year. Following the US election, mid-cap value stocks experienced a significant rally with the larger US equity market, hitting all-time highs before declining in December. In the quarter, the fund’s Investor Class fund ARTQX returned -3.70%, Advisor Class fund APDQX posted a return of -3.67%, and Institutional Class fund APHQX returned -3.67%, compared to a -1.75% return for the Russell Midcap Value Index. In addition, please check the fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2024.
In its fourth quarter 2024 investor letter, Artisan Mid Cap Value Fund emphasized stocks such as Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE). Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) is an online travel company with a market capitalization of $20.942 billion. The one-month return of Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) was -20.02%, and its shares gained 19.73% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On March 12, 2025, Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) stock closed at $162.52 per share.
Artisan Mid Cap Value Fund stated the following regarding Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) in its Q4 2024 investor letter:
“Top Q4 contributors included Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE), First Citizens and Vail Resorts. Online travel agency Expedia reported better-than-expected bookings growth driven by solid execution and continued robust global travel demand. The engine of growth in the company’s business-to-consumer segment remains its Expedia brand, though Vrbo, the vacation rental platform, returned to growth following softness in 1H 2024. Investors are eager to see benefits from the integration of the Vrbo, Hotels.com and Expedia brands into a single technology platform that can be accessed using a single customer account and the introduction of One Key, a new combined rewards program. Expedia’s business model is highly attractive. As one of only two globally scaled online travel agencies (the other is Booking Holdings, which is held in our large-cap portfolio), it is asset light and has a wide economic moat. Expedia is also well financed and cash generative.”
A busy airport terminal full of travelers eager to utilize the company’s services.
Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 72 hedge fund portfolios held Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) at the end of the fourth quarter compared to 52 in the third quarter. Expedia Group, Inc.’s (NASDAQ:EXPE) fourth quarter revenue grew 10% to $3.2 billion, driven by its B2B business. While we acknowledge the potential of Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) 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 Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) and shared Invesco Small Cap Value Fund’s views on the company. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q4 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.