Artisan Partners, an investment management company, released its “Artisan Small Cap Fund” fourth quarter 2023 investor letter. A copy of the same can be downloaded here. The portfolio had a positive absolute return in Q4 but underperformed the Russell 2000 Growth Index due to security selection, particularly in the healthcare and information technology sectors. In the fourth quarter, its Investor Class fund ARTSX returned 9.18%, Advisor Class fund APDSX posted a return of 9.26%, and Institutional Class fund APHSX returned 9.28%, compared to a return of 12.75% for the Russell 2000 Growth Index. In addition, please check the fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2023.
Artisan Small Cap Fund featured stocks like IPG Photonics Corporation (NASDAQ:IPGP) in the fourth quarter 2023 investor letter. Headquartered in Marlborough, Massachusetts, IPG Photonics Corporation (NASDAQ:IPGP) develops and distributes fiber lasers, laser systems, fiber amplifiers, and related optical components. On March 8, 2024, IPG Photonics Corporation (NASDAQ:IPGP) stock closed at $90.24 per share. One-month return of IPG Photonics Corporation (NASDAQ:IPGP) was -12.92%, and its shares lost 22.71% of their value over the last 52 weeks. IPG Photonics Corporation (NASDAQ:IPGP) has a market capitalization of $4.16 billion.
Artisan Small Cap Fund stated the following regarding IPG Photonics Corporation (NASDAQ:IPGP) in its fourth quarter 2023 investor letter:
“We initiated new GardenSM positions in IPG Photonics Corporation (NASDAQ:IPGP), MYR Group and elf Beauty during the quarter. IPG Photonics is a leader in industrial fiber lasers used primarily in material processing applications, including cutting, welding, cleaning and additive manufacturing. IPG is vertically integrated, manufacturing most components used in its products. In-house component production gives IPG a distinctive advantage by enabling it to be a first mover in many applications, control its production costs, reduce product form factors and foster innovation. The cutting segment, its primary market due to technological leadership in high- and ultra-high-power lasers, is facing near-term price competition from Chinese competitors and macro headwinds. However, we are constructive on its welding segment, where IPG has a defensible technological moat in electric vehicle welding applications.”
A highly-skilled technician assembling high-performance fiber lasers in a laboratory.
IPG Photonics Corporation (NASDAQ:IPGP) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. At the end of the fourth quarter, IPG Photonics Corporation (NASDAQ:IPGP) was held by 25 hedge fund portfolios, up from 23 in the previous quarter, according to our database.
We discussed IPG Photonics Corporation (NASDAQ:IPGP) in another article and shared the list of best semiconductor stocks to invest in. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q4 2023 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.
