Meridian Growth Fund Has a Favorable Long-Term Outlook for ACV Auctions (ACVA)

Meridian Funds, managed by ArrowMark Partners, released its “Meridian Growth Fund” second quarter 2022 investor letter. A copy of the same can be downloaded here. The fund outperformed its benchmark index, the Russell 2500 Growth Index, and returned -22.24% net at the end of the second quarter. The firm’s investment strategy prioritizes risk management over potential returns. In addition, you can check the top 5 holdings of the fund to know its best picks in 2022.

Meridian Funds discussed stocks like ACV Auctions Inc. (NASDAQ:ACVA) in the second quarter investor letter. Headquartered in Buffalo, New York, ACV Auctions Inc. (NASDAQ:ACVA) provides a digital marketplace where buyers and sellers can connect for the online auction of wholesale vehicles. On September 14, 2022, ACV Auctions Inc. (NASDAQ:ACVA) stock closed at $9.00 per share. One-month return of ACV Auctions Inc. (NASDAQ:ACVA) was 4.17% and its shares lost 54.75% of their value over the last 52 weeks. ACV Auctions Inc. (NASDAQ:ACVA) has a market capitalization of $1.419 billion.

Here is what Meridian Funds specifically said about ACV Auctions Inc. (NASDAQ:ACVA) in its Q2 2022 investor letter:

“ACV Auctions Inc. (NASDAQ:ACVA) operates a digital wholesale auction marketplace to facilitate business-to-business used car sales between sellers and dealers. It has disrupted the traditional physical used-car auction marketplace by attracting thousands of dealers to its online platform. ACV’s competitive advantage is its sizeable team of inspectors and the technology tools supporting this team. The depth and accuracy of ACV’s inspection reports provide buyers the confidence to bid aggressively, knowing that they are unlikely to be negatively surprised post purchase. Sellers are drawn to ACV because of its lower auction fees and large buyer base. Despite a challenging operating environment, ACV reported a 49% increase in first-quarter revenue, which was significantly faster than its physical auction peers, implying robust market share gains. However, sentiment for ACV’s stock cooled amid the company’s aggressive investments in its business, which are likely to result in negative free cash flow for the next few years. Further pressuring the stock were concerns that demand for used cars will decline as supply chain disruptions ease and new car production picks up. Our long-term conviction in the company remains high due to its strong fundamentals, healthy balance sheet, and increasing market share. Furthermore, we believe the sale of ADESA, one of ACV’s largest physical auction competitors, to online used-car platform Carvana could provide a tailwind to ACV. Carvana is viewed by used car dealers as a direct competitor, likely causing them to shift volumes from ADESA to ACV. Based on our favorable long-term outlook for the company, we added to our position during the quarter.”

ACV Auctions Inc. (NASDAQ:ACVA) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 24 hedge fund portfolios held ACV Auctions Inc. (NASDAQ:ACVA) at the end of the second quarter which was 34 in the previous quarter.

We discussed ACV Auctions Inc. (NASDAQ:ACVA) in another article and shared Baron Funds’ views on the company. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q2 2022 page for more investor letters from hedge funds and other leading investors.

Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.