Artisan Partners, an investment management company, released its “Artisan Small Cap Fund” third quarter 2024 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. The third quarter saw strength in small cap stocks, particularly in July when the return on the Russell 2000 Index was 10.2%. In the quarter, its Investor Class fund ARTSX returned 9.02%, Advisor Class fund APDSX posted a return of 9.04%, and Institutional Class fund APHSX returned 9.06%, compared to a return of 8.41% for the Russell 2000 Growth Index. Outperformance of the fund in the quarter was driven by positive security selection within health care and consumer discretionary sectors. In addition, you can check the fund’s top 5 holdings to find out its best picks for 2024.

Artisan Small Cap Fund highlighted stocks like On Holding AG (NYSE:ONON), in the third quarter 2024 investor letter. On Holding AG (NYSE:ONON) develops and distributes sports products. The one-month return of On Holding AG (NYSE:ONON) was 6.92%, and its shares gained 88.98% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On December 10, 2024, On Holding AG (NYSE:ONON) stock closed at $55.18 per share with a market capitalization of $17.788 billion.

Artisan Small Cap Fund stated the following regarding On Holding AG (NYSE:ONON) in its Q3 2024 investor letter:

"Notable trims in the quarter included Tyler Technologies, Argenx and On Holding AG (NYSE:ONON). On Holding is an emerging global athletic sports brand focusing on performance footwear and apparel. The category is one of the most challenging to break into, requiring a high degree of technical knowledge, significant investment spending and marketing prowess, each of which the company has achieved over the years. The company’s foundation in performance footwear provides a high barrier to entry and a strong and credible foundation for the brand to continue growing. We believe On will generate attractive growth as it scales across product categories, channels and geographies within the $300 billion global sportswear market. Shares rallied in the quarter, and we trimmed the position due to our valuation discipline."

A team of athletes showcasing the company's athletic footwear in an outdoor stadium.

On Holding AG (NYSE:ONON) is not on our list of 31 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 35 hedge fund portfolios held On Holding AG (NYSE:ONON) at the end of the third quarter which was 34 in the previous quarter. In the third quarter, On Holding AG (NYSE:ONON) generated CHF 636 million in net sales, growing by 33% on a constant currency basis. While we acknowledge the potential of On Holding AG (NYSE:ONON) 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.