Polen Capital, an investment management company, released its “Polen International Growth Strategy” third-quarter 2024 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. The strategy rose 3.25% (net of fees) in the third quarter compared to an 8.06% return for the MSCI ACWI (ex-USA) index. After a relatively peaceful first half of 2024, bouts of volatility from various sources hit international markets in Q3. In addition, please check the fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2024.
Polen International Growth Strategy highlighted stocks like ICON Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:ICLR) in the third quarter 2024 investor letter. Headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, ICON Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:ICLR) is a clinical research organization. The one-month return of ICON Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:ICLR) was -1.20%, and its shares lost 20.79% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On December 4, 2024, ICON Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:ICLR) stock closed at $214.50 per share with a market capitalization of $17.541 billion.
Polen International Growth Strategy stated the following regarding ICON Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:ICLR) in its Q3 2024 investor letter:
“Portfolio detractor ICON Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:ICLR) is a global provider of outsourced development and commercialization services to pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device industries. The stock fell during the quarter in sympathy with peers who noted signs of softening drug trial spend by biotech companies. In September, ICON’s management reiterated full-year and medium-term revenue growth guidance. Management also noted, as a caveat, that a handful of biotech customers are taking longer to make R&D spending decisions. Stepping back, we view ICON as an advantaged player in a large market experiencing secular growth. We further view ICON as a global leader with the scale and expertise needed to deliver timely trial outcomes to customers that remains poised to grow its earnings at a mid-teens rate in the future.”
A laboratory setting with a team of scientists working on a clinical trial.
ICON Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:ICLR) is not on our list of 31 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 48 hedge fund portfolios held ICON Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:ICLR) at the end of the third quarter which was 54 in the previous quarter. ICON Public Limited Company’s (NASDAQ:ICLR) third quarter revenue was $2.03 billion, represents a year-on-year decrease of 1.2% or 1% on a constant currency basis. While we acknowledge the potential of ICON Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:ICLR) 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 ICON Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:ICLR) and shared Baron Small Cap Fund’s views on the company. 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.