ClearBridge Investments, an investment management firm, published its “International Growth EAFE Strategy” third quarter 2021 investor letter – a copy of which can be downloaded here. During the third quarter, the ClearBridge International Growth EAFE Strategy underperformed its MSCI EAFE Index benchmark. The Strategy delivered gains across two of the 10 sectors in which it was invested (out of 11 total), with the health care sector the primary contributor, while the consumer discretionary, communication services, and consumer staples sectors were the largest detractors. You can take a look at the fund’s top 5 holdings to have an idea about their best picks for 2021.
ClearBridge International Growth EAFE Strategy, in its Q3 2021 investor letter, mentioned StoneCo Ltd. (NASDAQ: STNE) and discussed its stance on the firm. StoneCo Ltd. is a Cayman Islands-based financial technology solutions company with a $4.9 billion market capitalization. STNE delivered a -4.39% return since the beginning of the year, while its 12-month returns are down by -79.87%. The stock closed at $16.12 per share on January 07, 2022.
Here is what ClearBridge International Growth EAFE Strategy has to say about StoneCo Ltd. in its Q3 2021 investor letter:
“Brazil is another emerging markets focus for the Strategy and here we were hurt by payments company StoneCo. The stock sold off primarily due to surprise write-downs in its lending business, which began in the first quarter and continued into the second and have weighed on earnings. Lending is a relatively new business for StoneCo but was expected to be a substantial growth driver. Non-performing loans increased in the first quarter largely at merchants heavily impacted by COVID-19 lockdowns. Technical issues have caused delays in the government’s launch of a nationwide receivable marketplace, compounding the negative impacts on new business profitability. Stone, in turn, has halted lending until that marketplace opens. We believe the worst of the write-downs are behind us and core company fundamentals remain solid.”
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Based on our calculations, StoneCo Ltd. (NASDAQ: STNE) was not able to clinch a spot in our list of the 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. STNE was in 37 hedge fund portfolios at the end of the third quarter of 2021, compared to 44 funds in the previous quarter. StoneCo Ltd. (NASDAQ: STNE) delivered a -51.36% return in the past 3 months.
In December 2021, we also shared another hedge fund’s views on STNE in another article. You can find more than 100 investor letters from hedge funds and prominent investors on our hedge fund investor letters 2021 Q3 page.
Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
