Scout Investments, Inc, an affiliate of Carillon Tower Advisers, released the “Carillon Scout Mid Cap Fund” second quarter 2024 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. The Russell Midcap® Index fell in Q2 as investors prioritized mega-cap technology businesses over smaller ones. IT, communications, and utilities were among the midcap industries with significant links to AI and attractive returns, as they matched the power requirements of AI servers. Surprisingly, the generally less cyclical consumer staples and healthcare sectors underperformed despite the index’s negative returns in the quarter. Overall, the U.S. economy appears steady going into the second half of the year. In addition, please check the fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2024.
Carillon Scout Mid Cap Fund highlighted stocks like Micro Computer, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMCI), in the second quarter 2024 investor letter. Super Micro Computer, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMCI) develops and manufactures high-performance server and storage solutions. The one-month return of Super Micro Computer, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMCI) was -27.77%, and its shares gained 53.12% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On September 9, 2024, Super Micro Computer, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMCI) stock closed at $409.87 per share with a market capitalization of $24.001 billion.
Carillon Scout Mid Cap Fund stated the following regarding Super Micro Computer, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMCI) in its Q2 2024 investor letter:
“Super Micro Computer, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMCI) was the top detractor to returns in the second quarter. Super Micro designs and manufacturers server solutions based on modular and open-standard architecture. This modular approach combined with a strong engineering culture helps the company to supply the market with advanced servers and rack-scale compute solutions quickly. After an impressive return in the first quarter, the company offered disappointing near-term earnings guidance, though we do not believe its long-term opportunity has diminished. We expect continued strong growth for several years, although the range of outcomes is quite wide; it is difficult to forecast AI server market growth with precision.”
Super Micro Computer, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMCI) is not on our list of 31 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 47 hedge fund portfolios held Super Micro Computer, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMCI) at the end of the second quarter which was 35 in the previous quarter. In the fourth quarter of fiscal 2024, Super Micro Computer, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMCI) delivered $5.31 billion in revenues, up 143% year-over-year. While we acknowledge the potential of Super Micro Computer, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMCI) 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 Super Micro Computer, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMCI) and shared Jim Cramer’s top hottest stock picks. 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.