ClearBridge Investments, an investment management company, released its “ClearBridge Mid Cap Strategy” fourth quarter 2024 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. The fourth quarter was turbulent for mid-size stocks, which surged following the election and interest rate reductions before holding steady as the market shifted back to large cap leadership. The strategy outperformed its Russell Midcap Index during the fourth quarter driven by strong stock selection among IT and industrials holdings. In addition, please check the fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2024.

In its fourth quarter 2024 investor letter, ClearBridge Mid Cap Strategy emphasized stocks such as Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR). Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR) provides mission-critical products and services to biopharma, healthcare, education and government, advanced technologies, and applied materials industries. The one-month return of Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR) was -22.50%, and its shares lost 30.11% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On February 26, 2025, Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR) stock closed at $17.22 per share with a market capitalization of $11.73 billion.

ClearBridge Mid Cap Strategy stated the following regarding Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR) in its Q4 2024 investor letter:

"Stock selection in health care was the biggest detractor from returns, as the prospect of higher rates, continued push out of health care R&D spending and the potentially disruptive nomination of RFK Jr. as Secretary of Health and Human Services weighed heavily on the biotechnology, pharmaceutical industries and related supply chains. This included ICON, a contract research organization that provides outsourced development and clinical development organization serving biopharmaceutical and life science customers, and Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR), which provides mission-critical products and services to customers in the biopharmaceutical, health care, education, government and other specialized industries. While recognizing these headwinds, we continue to believe that the health care sector is a fertile hunting ground for opportunities as end markets stabilize and begin to recover."

A team of scientists working together to develop a new lab product or process.

Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 39 hedge fund portfolios held Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR) at the end of the fourth quarter compared to 40 in the third quarter. While we acknowledge the potential of Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR) 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 Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR) and shared Sound Shore Management's views on the company in the previous quarter. Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR) has exhibited strong execution amid a tough life sciences spending climate, contributing positively to ClearBridge Mid Cap Strategy's performance in the previous quarter. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q4 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.