ClearBridge Investments, an investment management company, released its “ClearBridge Growth Strategy” fourth-quarter 2025 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. US equities reported a strong but volatile performance in the fourth quarter, with the S&P 500 Index returning 2.7% while the benchmark Russell Midcap Growth Index declined 3.7%. In this environment, a balanced, highly active share approach resulted in Strategy’s third consecutive quarter of outperformance, capturing early momentum while providing downside protection during rising volatility towards the end of the period. The strategy maintained its long-term investment philosophy of disciplined portfolio management and opportunistic capital allocation. In addition, please check the fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2025.
In its fourth-quarter 2025 investor letter, ClearBridge Growth Strategy highlighted stocks such as Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX). Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) is a biotechnology company focusing on developing and commercializing therapies for treating cystic fibrosis (CF). The one-month return of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) was 1.79%, and its shares gained 12.21% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On January 9, 2026, Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) stock closed at $463.86 per share, with a market capitalization of $118.929 billion.
ClearBridge Growth Strategy stated the following regarding Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) in its fourth quarter 2025 investor letter:
“Positive contributions from steadier growth holdings helped to offset these pressures. Within health care, top individual contributor Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) benefited from growing optimism around its kidney disease pipeline and continued to demonstrate the value of idiosyncratic, innovation driven growth.”
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 61 hedge fund portfolios held Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) at the end of the third quarter, which was 53 in the previous quarter. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) delivered $3.08 billion in revenue in the third quarter, representing a 11% growth compared to Q3 2024. While we acknowledge the potential of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you’re looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock.
