Ariel Investments, an investment management company, released its “Ariel Small Cap Value Strategy” second-quarter 2024 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. Even if uncertainty is high and volatility is expected to stay elevated in the market, the firm views these risks as short-term in the context of its long-term investment horizon. Ariel Small Cap Value Tax-Exempt Composite decreased -3.80% gross of fees (-4.04% net of fees) in the quarter, against this backdrop, lagging -3.64% and -3.28% returns of the Russell 2000 Value Index and the Russell 2000 Index, respectively. In addition, you can check the fund’s top 5 holdings to determine its best picks for 2024.
Ariel Small Cap Value Strategy highlighted stocks like Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA) in the second quarter 2024 investor letter. Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA) is a media, streaming, and entertainment company. The one-month return of Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA) was -3.23%, and its shares lost 24.71% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On August 21, 2024, Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA) stock closed at $11.09 per share with a market capitalization of $7.895 billion.
Ariel Small Cap Value Strategy stated the following regarding Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA) in its Q2 2024 investor letter:
“Also in the quarter, we initiated a position in entertainment company, Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA). Shares tumbled amidst merger talks, which coincided with leadership changes at both the executive and Board level. Continued pressures around the linear TV ecosystem and competition in streaming further drove the stock to new lows. We have held steadfast to our PARA holdings in other portfolios amidst the merger saga and this further price decrease presented an attractive buying opportunity, particularly as the company expects to deliver significant earnings growth in 2024 and to reach Paramount+ domestic profitability in 2025. In our view, the underlying value of the company’s proprietary content and media assets are not reflected in the recent share price.”
![5 Highest-Grossing Media Franchises of All Time](https://imonkey-blog.imgix.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/26224316/SNPO-insidermonkey-1701056594662-768x430.jpg?auto=fortmat&fit=clip&expires=1756166400&width=480&height=269)
A person at home displaying a vibrant media streaming interface, being rendered on a large flatscreen television.
Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA) is not on our list of 31 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 39 hedge fund portfolios held Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA) at the end of the second quarter which was 42 in the previous quarter. While we acknowledge the potential of Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA) 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 addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q2 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.