Craft partnersan investment management company, has released its second quarter 2026 investor letter for its “Artisan Small Cap Fund.” A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. The fund delivered strong absolute returns, slightly outperforming the Russell 2000® Growth Index, which gained 25.7%. Global stocks rallied as robust U.S. growth, moderate inflation, strong earnings and continued AI investment outweighed delayed interest rate cuts, rising bond yields and geopolitical uncertainty. The investor class: ARTSX, the advisor class: APDSX and the institutional class: APHSX returned 26.02%, 26.05% and 26.11%, respectively, in the second quarter, compared to a return of 25.71% for the index. Market leadership favored loss-making, heavily leveraged companies and created a difficult environment for quality-focused active managers. Healthcare was the largest relative contributor, but energy, materials, financials and real estate also contributed to performance. Technology, industrials and consumer discretionary detracted from performance, in part because the fund did not have an outsized index provider. Despite strong fundamentals, software stocks also fell. The fund remains positive on small-cap opportunities, AI infrastructure and healthcare, but has reduced software exposure and remains selective as valuations rise and competitive risks increase. Also, please check out the fund’s top five holdings to know the best picks in 2026.
In its Q2 2026 investor letter, Artisan Small Cap Fund highlighted Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE:GWRE). Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE:GWRE) provides a platform for property and casualty (P&C) insurers. On July 23, 2026, Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE:GWRE) closed at $131.38 per share. Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE:GWRE)’s one-month return was 14.22%, and its shares lost 37.88% over the past 52 weeks. Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE:GWRE) has a market cap of $10.94 billion with a 52-week trading range of $102.30 to $272.60.
Artisan Small Cap Fund stated the following about Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE:GWRE) in its second quarter 2026 investor letter:
“Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE:GWRE), the market leader in software for the property and casualty insurance industry, remained a drag despite continued fundamental improvements. Like many software companies, the stock came under pressure as investors questioned the company’s long-term growth profile and valuation multiples in an AI-driven environment. We believe that Guidewire’s system of record position remains highly defensible and that the company is well positioned to strengthen its competitive advantage by incorporating AI-powered capabilities into its existing platform.”
Why is Guidewire Software Inc (GWRE) surging so far in 2025?
Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE:GWRE) is not on our list The 40 most popular stocks among hedge funds. According to our database, 52 hedge fund portfolios held Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE:GWRE) at the end of the first quarter, compared to 69 in the previous quarter. While we recognize Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE:GWRE)’s potential as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and pose less downside risk. If you’re looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that will also benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, check out our free report on the topic best short term AI stock.
In another articlewe reported on Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE:GWRE) and shared the list of best 52-week deep technology stocks to buy according to analysts. You can also find additional investor letters from hedge funds and other leading investors on our Q2 2026 Hedge Fund Investor Letters page.
READ MORE: 33 stocks that should double in 3 years And 15 stocks that will make you rich in 10 years.
Disclosure: None. This article was originally published on Insider Monkey.
https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/guidewire-software-gwre-remains-well-150814854.html
