Artisan Partners, an investment management company, released its first-quarter 2026 investor letter for “Artisan Value Fund”. A copy of the letter is available to download here. The Funds’ Investor Class: ARTLX, Advisor Class: APDLX, and Institutional Class: APHLX returned -3.54%, -3.50%. and 3.50%, respectively, in Q1 vs, 2.10% return for the Russell 1000® Value Index. Performance was impacted by a market favoring momentum-driven stocks over quality factors, alongside company-specific setbacks. In Q1 2026, the US equity market showed mixed results: large-cap indices declined, while mid- and small-cap stocks gained modestly, reflecting a gradual broadening in market participation. Volatility increased, driven by concerns over artificial intelligence and private credit, and further escalated due to the outbreak of conflict in Iran. Despite uncertainty, the Fund focuses on identifying companies that can create value through cycles, particularly where market dislocations provide attractive entry points. In addition, please check the Fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2026.
In its first-quarter 2026 investor letter, Artisan Value Fund highlighted Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ:LRCX) as a notable contributor. Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ:LRCX) is a leading semiconductor equipment company that supplies semiconductor processing equipment for the fabrication of integrated circuits. On May 22, 2026, Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ:LRCX) closed at $305.35 per share. One-month return of Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ:LRCX) was 17.68%, and its shares gained 276.70% over the past 52 weeks. Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ:LRCX) has a market capitalization of $381.86 billion.
Artisan Value Fund stated the following regarding Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ:LRCX) in its Q1 2026 investor letter:
“Outside of the energy sector, Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ:LRCX) was our largest gainer. Lam Research, a global leader in wafer fabrication equipment (WFE) used in semiconductor manufacturing, continues to see strong demand for its chipmaking tools, supported by the ongoing, large-scale buildout of data centers running AI applications. In its most recent quarter, the company not only met the Street’s elevated expectations but also raised its 2026 guidance, as it now expects WFE sales to grow a better-than-anticipated 23% year over year. Growth is being driven by strength in leading-edge foundry and logic markets, DRAM memory and Lam’s continued ability to gain share. We initiated our position in Lam in April 2025 near the depths of the post–Liberation Day market selloff. As value investors, we view periods of fear and uncertainty as fertile ground for creating attractive long-term investment opportunities. Few areas of the market faced greater pressure at the start of the year than semiconductor and semiconductor equipment stocks. At the time of our initial purchase, Lam shares were trading at approximately 17X cyclically depressed earnings, which we viewed as an attractive valuation given the compounding nature of the business, consistent free cash flow generation and net cash balance sheet. Since April, the stock has risen more than 300%. Consistent with our valuation discipline, we trimmed our position in Q1, as the shares now trade at more than 30X FY27 forecasted earnings.”
Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ:LRCX) is not on our list of 40 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds Heading Into 2026. According to our database, 104 hedge fund portfolios held Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ:LRCX) at the end of the fourth quarter, up from 93 in the previous quarter. Lam Research Corporation’s (NASDAQ:LRCX) revenue for the March quarter of 2026 was $5.84 billion, representing a 9% sequential increase and a 24% increase compared to Q1 2025. While we acknowledge the risk and potential of Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ:LRCX) 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 Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ:LRCX) and that has 10,000% upside potential, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.
In another article, we covered Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ:LRCX) and shared the list of oversold growth stocks to invest in. Baron Durable Advantage Fund initiated a position in Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ:LRCX) during Q1 2026. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q1 2026 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.
