Meridian Funds, managed by ArrowMark Partners, released its “Meridian Hedged Equity Fund” fourth quarter 2024 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. The direction of interest rates, inflation, and the outcome of the US election all had a significant impact on the markets throughout the quarter. In the quarter, the fund appreciated 0.07% (net), trailing its benchmark, the S&P 500 Index, which returned 2.41%, and its secondary benchmark, the CBOE S&P 500 Buy/Write Index’s 5.79% return. In addition, you can check the fund’s top 5 holdings to determine its best picks for 2024.
In its fourth quarter 2024 investor letter, Meridian Hedged Equity Fund emphasized stocks such as Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST). Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) is an integrated retail electricity and power generation company. The one-month return of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) was -31.36%, and its shares gained 86.98% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On March 11, 2025, Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) stock closed at $114.36 per share with a market capitalization of $38.8 billion.
Meridian Hedged Equity Fund stated the following regarding Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) in its Q4 2024 investor letter:
“Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) is an integrated retail and power generation company with operations across the U.S., primarily serving Texas and the Midwest. We believe Vistra is well-positioned to capitalize on the structural tightening of power markets, as electricity demand accelerates, and baseload generation capacity continues to retire. This trend has been amplified by the rapid growth of AI, which is driving unprecedented demand for data centers and the power required to run them. These factors create a favorable pricing environment for Vistra’s generation fleet, especially its nuclear and gas assets. The company has locked in much of this value via hedging, providing clear visibility into future cash flows. Vistra has also successfully grown its retail business and completed a strategic acquisition of Energy Harbor, which added a portfolio of nuclear, retail, and renewable assets.”
Solar panel workers installing a new farm for clean energy generation.
Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) is in 28th position on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 120 hedge fund portfolios held Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) at the end of the fourth quarter which was 97 in the previous quarter. While we acknowledge the potential of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) 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 Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) and shared the list of top beaten down large cap stocks that can double according to Wall Street. 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.