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Artisan Partners, an investment management company, released its “Artisan Mid Cap Fund” first quarter 2025 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. In the first quarter, the fund’s Investor Class fund ARTMX returned -7.40%, Advisor Class fund APDMX posted a return of -7.37%, and Institutional Class fund APHMX returned -7.35%, compared to a -7.12% return for the Russell Midcap Growth Index. US equities achieved solid Q4 gains, concluding a strong year. After a period of strong growth stock performance in 2023 and 2024, value stocks gained the lead in Q1 2025. In a risk-averse environment, investors shifted towards lower-volatility equities, especially in the utilities and consumer staples sectors, alongside those with higher dividend yields. In addition, please check the fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2025.
In its first-quarter 2025 investor letter, Artisan Mid Cap Fund highlighted stocks such as Deckers Outdoor Corporation (NYSE:DECK). Deckers Outdoor Corporation (NYSE:DECK) is a footwear, apparel, and accessories company for everyday casual lifestyle and high-performance activities. The one-month return of Deckers Outdoor Corporation (NYSE:DECK) was 1.96%, and its shares lost 16.81% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On May 5, 2025, Deckers Outdoor Corporation (NYSE:DECK) stock closed at $118.33 per share with a market capitalization of $17.959 billion.
Artisan Mid Cap Fund stated the following regarding Deckers Outdoor Corporation (NYSE:DECK) in its Q1 2025 investor letter:
"Among our top detractors were West Pharmaceutical Services, Deckers Outdoor Corporation (NYSE:DECK) and Marvell Technology. Deckers owns and operates the Ugg and Hoka brands, which comprise most of the company’s sales. Shares dropped after the company released its earnings results. While demand for both brands was strong, a weaker-than-expected forward short-term outlook raised concerns. However, we believe the weakness can be largely attributed to supply shortages and management’s conservative approach. We continue to view this as an attractive profit cycle driven by a combination of its wholesale channel (market share gains within specialty running, disciplined expansion into new stores in the US and new country launches), online sales (as brand awareness builds) and product innovation (a mix of performance and lifestyle, which expands the addressable market). We have maintained our position but are evaluating tariff impacts on margins and will be monitoring demand for its Hoka brand."