Ariel Investments, an investment management company, released its “Ariel Fund” second-quarter 2025 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. The second quarter was a volatile period. Stocks fell sharply in early April following the “Liberation Day” tariff announcement, pushing the market close to bear market territory. Later, the pause in plans led to a strong recovery. Excitement for artificial intelligence (AI) stocks reignited, with positive economic data and strong corporate earnings driving U.S. indices to new all-time highs. Growth stocks outperformed value stocks, and large caps continued to outperform their small-cap counterparts. Against this backdrop, Ariel Fund returned 6.96% in the quarter, lagging behind both the Russell 2500 Value Index’s +7.29% return and exceeding the Russell 2000 Value Index’s +4.97% gain. For more information on the fund’s top picks in 2025, please check its top five holdings.
In its second quarter 2025 investor letter, Ariel Fund highlighted stocks such as Adtalem Global Education Inc. (NYSE:ATGE). Adtalem Global Education Inc. (NYSE:ATGE) offers workforce solutions that operate through Chamberlain, Walden, and Medical and Veterinary segments. The one-month return of Adtalem Global Education Inc. (NYSE:ATGE) was -8.55%, and its shares gained 49.57% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On July 18, 2025, Adtalem Global Education Inc. (NYSE:ATGE) stock closed at $117.08 per share, with a market capitalization of $4.206 billion.
Ariel Fund stated the following regarding Adtalem Global Education Inc. (NYSE:ATGE) in its second quarter 2025 investor letter:
“Shares of global leader in for-profit education, Adtalem Global Education Inc. (NYSE:ATGE), also jumped following a top- and bottom-line quarterly earnings beat driven by accelerating new student enrollment growth and a subsequent raise to fiscal year 2025 guidance. Revenue per student and margins at Chamberlain and Walden also came in significantly better than expected. Meanwhile, we remain encouraged by management’s solid execution of remediation initiatives at the medical and veterinary schools, where revenue growth outperformed and total enrollment trends are improving. Although regulatory uncertainty within the U.S education landscape remains, we view ATGE as well insulated, if not a beneficiary of potentially less onerous government scrutiny. Longer term, we believe ATGE’s strong fundamentals, quality programs, free cash flow generation and sturdy balance sheet are attractive. As the number one grantor of nursing degrees in the U.S. and the largest producer of African American MDs, PhDs and nurses in the country, we remain confident ATGE will benefit from the healthcare worker shortage in the U.S.”
A group of students in a lecture hall, with a professor lecturing to them in the forefront.
Adtalem Global Education Inc. (NYSE:ATGE) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 29 hedge fund portfolios held Adtalem Global Education Inc. (NYSE:ATGE) at the end of the first quarter, compared to 32 in the previous quarter. Adtalem Global Education Inc.’s (NYSE:ATGE) fiscal third quarter revenue increased 13% to $466 million. While we acknowledge the risk and potential of Adtalem Global Education Inc. (NYSE:ATGE) as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than Adtalem Global Education Inc. (NYSE:ATGE) and that has 10,000% upside potential, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.
In another article, we covered Adtalem Global Education Inc. (NYSE:ATGE) and shared Ariel Fund’s views on the company in the previous quarter. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q2 2025 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.
