Polen Capital, an investment management company, released its “Polen U.S. Small Company Growth Strategy” second-quarter 2024 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. In the second quarter, the fund delivered -8.55% gross and -8.67% net of fees compared to a -2.92% return for the Russell 2000 Growth Index and a -1.41% return for the S&P SmallCap 600 Growth Index. In addition, you can check the fund's top 5 holdings to find out its best picks for 2024.

Polen U.S. Small Company Growth Strategy highlighted stocks like Helen of Troy Limited (NASDAQ:HELE), in the second quarter 2024 investor letter. Helen of Troy Limited (NASDAQ:HELE) offers wide range of consumer products. The one-month return of Helen of Troy Limited (NASDAQ:HELE) was -35.48%, and its shares lost 57.33% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On July 31, 2024, Helen of Troy Limited (NASDAQ:HELE) stock closed at $59.11 per share with a market capitalization of $1.348 billion.

Polen U.S. Small Company Growth Strategy stated the following regarding Helen of Troy Limited (NASDAQ:HELE) in its Q2 2024 investor letter:

"Helen of Troy Limited (NASDAQ:HELE) is a consumer products business. Despite compelling attributes, it was negatively impacted by a confluence of factors post-pandemic, including large acquisitions at lofty prices in earlier years. While we were initially encouraged by the plan to get the business back on track, we have been disappointed by the lackluster longer-term growth prospects as management continues to reorganize its portfolio. As we had opportunities for more consistent and durable growth at as good or better returns, we sold the position."

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Helen of Troy Limited (NASDAQ:HELE) is not on our list of 31 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 26 hedge fund portfolios held Helen of Troy Limited (NASDAQ:HELE) at the end of the first quarter which was 21 in the previous quarter. The first quarter revenue of Helen of Troy Limited (NASDAQ:HELE) declined 12.2% (see the details here). While we acknowledge the potential of Helen of Troy Limited (NASDAQ:HELE) 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.