Reasons for the Outperformance of Saia (SAIA)

Artisan Partners, an investment management company, released its “Artisan Global Discovery Fund” first quarter 2024 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. In the first quarter, the fund’s Investor Class APFDX returned 8.40%, Advisor Class APDDX posted a return of 8.37%, and Institutional Class APHDX returned 8.48%, compared to an 8.20% return for the MSCI All Country World Index. Broad-based security selection contributions across health care, consumer staples, industrials, and consumer discretionary drove the fund's outperformance in the quarter. This was partially offset by information technology. In addition, please check the fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2024.

Artisan Global Discovery Fund highlighted stocks like Saia, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAIA), in the first quarter 2024 investor letter. Saia, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAIA) is a North America-based transportation company. The one-month return of Saia, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAIA) was 4.67%, and its shares gained 38.66% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On July 2, 2024, Saia, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAIA) stock closed at $466.37 per share with a market capitalization of $12.363 billion.

Artisan Global Discovery Fund stated the following regarding Saia, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAIA) in its Q1 2024 investor letter:

“Among our top Q1 contributors were Shockwave Medical, Spotify and Saia, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAIA). Saia operates in less-than-truckload shipping, a structurally attractive area of transportation that features several solid franchises supported by real estate assets and network advantages. Saia has been opening new terminals across the country, raising its terminal count by 46 since 2017 to a total of 192 in 2023. The company is entering a new growth phase that should unlock additional operating leverage. Shares rallied after the company released strong financial results, including growth of 15% for revenue and 22% for operating income. Furthermore, the company is taking advantage of the void left in the market after the August 2023 bankruptcy of Yellow, a key competitor.”

A long line of trucks transporting goods across the open road, symbolizing the long-distance transportation services of the company.

Saia, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAIA) is not on our list of 31 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 38 hedge fund portfolios held Saia, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAIA) at the end of the first quarter which was 31 in the previous quarter. Saia, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAIA) reported revenue of $754.8 million in the first quarter, an increase of 14.3% from last year’s first quarter. While we acknowledge the potential of Saia, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAIA) 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.

We discussed Saia, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAIA) in another article and shared the list of best logistics stocks to buy. ClearBridge Select Strategy added Saia, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAIA) to its portfolio in Q1 2024. 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.