Artisan Partners, an investment management company, released its “Artisan Small Cap Fund” first quarter 2024 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. Equity markets surged at the beginning of 2024 in anticipation of the US economy entering a “goldilocks” scenario – a soft landing combined with decreasing inflation, potentially leading to a cut in interest rates by the Fed. In the first quarter, its Investor Class fund ARTSX returned 9.43%, Advisor Class fund APDSX posted a return of 9.42%, and Institutional Class fund APHSX returned 9.48%, compared to a return of 7.58% for the Russell 2000 Growth Index. In addition, please check the fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2024.
Artisan Small Cap Fund highlighted stocks like E.l.f. Beauty, Inc. (NYSE:ELF), in the first quarter 2024 investor letter. E.l.f. Beauty, Inc. (NYSE:ELF) provides cosmetic and skin care products. The one-month return of E.l.f. Beauty, Inc. (NYSE:ELF) was 12.44%, and its shares gained 90.80% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On May 28, 2024, E.l.f. Beauty, Inc. (NYSE:ELF) stock closed at $193.24 per share with a market capitalization of $10.81 billion.
Artisan Small Cap Fund stated the following regarding E.l.f. Beauty, Inc. (NYSE:ELF) in its first quarter 2024 investor letter:
“Along with Iovance Biotherapeutics, notable adds in the quarter included E.l.f. Beauty, Inc. (NYSE:ELF) . We already mentioned emerging signs of consumer weakness, especially among those with lower incomes. We think this environment sets up nicely for companies that provide high-quality products sold at a discount to capture market share from their name-brand competitors. SharkNinja and e.l.f. Beauty are two examples. e.l.f. Beauty is a cosmetics company focusing on a low-price strategy, sizeable social media presence and rapid speed to market. In the core business, it aims to replicate existing prestige products at a lower price along with recognizing new and emerging trends. Its share of the US cosmetic market is around 10%. We believe it will gain more market share in the US and leverage social media to expand into new markets, such as Western Europe, India and Latin America. Furthermore, the company has growth potential within its skincare business, where its recent acquisition of Naturium will benefit from e.l.f.’s innovative distribution model.”
A woman laughing as she applies makeup in the mirror, embracing the beauty of self-care.
E.l.f. Beauty, Inc. (NYSE:ELF) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 33 hedge fund portfolios held E.l.f. Beauty, Inc. (NYSE:ELF) at the end of the first quarter which was 34 in the previous quarter.
With net sales of over $1 billion this year, E.l.f. Beauty, Inc. (NYSE:ELF) achieved a significant milestone. The company exceeded expectations in the fiscal year 2024, increasing net sales by 77%, gross margin by about 330 basis points, adjusted EBITDA by 101%, and market share by 305 basis points.
In another article, we discussed E.l.f. Beauty, Inc. (NYSE:ELF) and shared ClearBridge Small Cap Growth Strategy’s views on the company. 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.
