Baron Capital, an investment management company, released its Q1 2026 investor letter for the “Baron Asset Fund”. A copy of the letter is available to download here. U.S. equity markets started the year on a positive note. In February, market dynamics changed due to concerns about AI disruption, accelerated by U.S. and Israeli military action in Iran in March, raising fears of higher oil prices. The Fund declined 7.81% (Institutional Shares) for the quarter, versus a 6.35% decline in the Russell Midcap Growth Index. Performance was adversely impacted by overexposure to the software and services sectors and underexposure to the energy industries. Despite this, the Firm remains optimistic about the market recognizing high-quality businesses owned by the Fund, given their resilience against perceived AI threats. In addition, please check the Fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2026.
In its first-quarter 2026 investor letter, Baron Asset Fund highlighted stocks like Bio-Techne Corporation (NASDAQ:TECH). Bio-Techne Corporation (NASDAQ:TECH) is a leader in the life science research market that engages in the manufacturing and selling of life science reagents, instruments, and services. On May 13, 2026, Bio-Techne Corporation (NASDAQ:TECH) stock closed at $44.89 per share. One-month return of Bio-Techne Corporation (NASDAQ:TECH)) was -21.74%, and its shares lost 6.94% over the past 52 weeks. Bio-Techne Corporation (NASDAQ:TECH)) has a market capitalization of $7.03 billion.
Baron Asset Fund stated the following regarding Bio-Techne Corporation (NASDAQ:TECH) in its Q1 2026 investor letter:
“Bio-Techne Corporation (NASDAQ:TECH) was sold over concerns about the potential impact of AI on the methods of basic scientific research and the tools used to do research, leading us to not expect a rapid recovery in the company’s overall growth rate to levels that we expected when we made the original investment.”
Bio-Techne Corporation (NASDAQ:TECH) is not on our list of 40 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds Heading Into 2026. According to our database, 57 hedge fund portfolios held Bio-Techne Corporation (NASDAQ:TECH) at the end of the fourth quarter, up from 56 in the previous quarter. While we acknowledge the risk and potential of Bio-Techne Corporation (NASDAQ:TECH) 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 Bio-Techne Corporation (NASDAQ:TECH) and that has 10,000% upside potential, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.
In another article, we covered Bio-Techne Corporation (NASDAQ:TECH) and shared Madison Mid Cap Fund’s views on the company. 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.
