GreensKeeper Asset Management, an investment management company, released its third quarter investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. The Value Fund appreciated +4.7% (net) in the third quarter, +16.7% year to date and +24.4% over the past twelve months, however, the US dollar lowered returns by about -1.1% in Q3. The broader markets are clearly in positive territory for the year after a successful quarter. After the Federal Reserve decided to lower interest rates by 50 basis points in September, the major indices saw a surge, with the DJIA and S&P 500 closing the quarter at all-time highs. In addition, you can check the fund’s top 5 holdings to determine its best picks for 2024.
GreensKeeper Asset Management highlighted stocks like Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) in the third quarter 2024 investor letter. Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) is a healthcare company that operates through Pharmaceutical and Animal Health segments. The one-month return of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) was 0.64%, and its shares lost 4.03% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On December 4, 2024, Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) stock closed at $101.37 per share with a market capitalization of $256.43 billion.
GreensKeeper Asset Management stated the following regarding Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) in its Q3 2024 investor letter:
“Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) was our second-largest detractor this quarter, declining -8.3%. MRK’s leading HPV vaccine, GARDASIL 9, faced challenges internationally due to inventory buildup within its Chinese distributor, which is expected to reduce shipments for the remainder of 2024. Despite this short-term impact, the long-term outlook for GARDASIL 9 remains promising. Meanwhile, the company’s $27 billion Keytruda cancer juggernaut continues to grow at a healthy clip, powering earnings growth.”
A close-up of a person’s hand holding a bottle of pharmaceuticals.
Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) is not on our list of 31 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 86 hedge fund portfolios held Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) at the end of the third quarter which was 96 in the previous quarter. Merck & Co., Inc.’s (NYSE:MRK) third quarter revenue was $16.7 billion, an increase of 4% or 7% excluding the impact of foreign exchange. While we acknowledge the potential of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) 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 Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) and shared the list of stocks billionaire Ray Dalio’s Bridgewater is crazy about. Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) detracted from the performance of Columbia Dividend Opportunity Fund in Q3 2024. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q3 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.