Meta Platforms (META) Soared on Strong Results

Fred Alger Management, an investment management company, released its “Alger Focus Equity Fund” first quarter 2024 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. US markets performed strongly in Q1, with the S&P Index up 10.56%. Class A shares of the fund outperformed the Russell 1000 Growth Index in the quarter. Information Technology and industrial sectors boosted the relative performance while financials and consumer staples weighed down the fund’s performance in the quarter. In addition, you can check the top 5 holdings of the fund to know its best picks in 2024.

Alger Focus Equity Fund highlighted stocks like Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META), in the first quarter 2024 investor letter. Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) is a technology company that develops products to connect people. The one-month return of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) was 3.01%, and its shares gained 73.24% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On July 3, 2024, Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) stock closed at $509.96 per share with a market capitalization of $1.294 trillion.

Alger Focus Equity Fund stated the following regarding Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) in its Q1 2024 investor letter:

“Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) operates the world’s largest social network, with over 3 billion monthly active users across its platform. The company generates revenue predominantly from advertising. which accounts for over 95% of its total revenue, evenly split between North America and international markets. During the quarter, shares contributed to performance following the release of strong fiscal fourth quarter operating results, with revenues and earnings surpassing analyst estimates. The better-than- expected revenues were attributed to strong advertiser demand and Al-driven ad improvements. Moreover, the company materially raised its fiscal first quarter sales and earnings guidance above analysts’ estimates, buoyed by continued strong advertiser demand trends and enhancements to Reels. Advantage+. Click-to-message, and Shop Ads. Further, management noted that ongoing investment in Al is enhancing user engagement and advertiser returns through improved targeting and measurement. Separately, Meta authorized a new share repurchase plan representing approximately 5% of its market capitalization and announced the initiation of its first dividend, implying an approximate 0.4% yield.”

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) is in third position on our list of 31 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 246 hedge fund portfolios held Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) at the end of the first quarter which was 242 in the previous quarter. Meta Platforms, Inc.’s (NASDAQ:META) trailing 12 months revenue was $142.71 billion and year over year quarterly revenue growth rate is 27.30%. While we acknowledge the potential of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) 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.

We discussed Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) in another article and shared biggest AI stories and ratings updates you should not miss this week. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q1 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.