Baron Funds, an investment management company, released its “Baron Asset Fund” first quarter 2023 investor letter. A copy of the same can be downloaded here. The fund appreciated 5.34% in the first quarter, trailing the Russell Midcap Growth Index, which returned 9.14%. Stock selection drove the fund to underperform in the quarter. IT, Communication Services, and Consumer Discretionary were the strongest performing sectors, while Energy and Financials were the principal laggards. Furthermore, defensive-oriented sectors, Health Care, Utilities, and Consumer Staples also struggled in the quarter. In addition, please check the fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2023.
Baron Asset Fund highlighted stocks like IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:IDXX) in the first quarter 2023 investor letter. Headquartered in Westbrook, Maine, IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:IDXX) engages in the development and manufacturing of products and services for animal veterinary, livestock and poultry, dairy, and water testing. On May 1, 2023, IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:IDXX) stock closed at $489.60 per share. One-month return of IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:IDXX) was 1.15%, and its shares gained 12.30% of their value over the last 52 weeks. IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:IDXX) has a market capitalization of $40.623 billion.
Baron Asset Fund made the following comment about IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:IDXX) in its Q1 2023 investor letter:
“IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:IDXX). is the leading global provider of testing and diagnostic services to veterinarians. After lagging during 2022, the shares contributed meaningfully to performance during the quarter. IDEXX reported financial results that exceeded consensus expectations, and the stock’s multiple expanded. Veterinary visits had spiked during the pandemic, creating difficult annual growth comparisons. Investors cheered the apparent stabilization in veterinary visits, which bodes well for the company’s overall revenue growth to accelerate. In addition, management has raised prices across the board, which should help the company protect its margins despite the inflationary environment. We believe that trends towards increased pet ownership and pet health care spending have been structurally accelerated, which should help support IDEXX’s long-term growth rate and margin profile.”
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IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:IDXX) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 37 hedge fund portfolios held IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:IDXX) at the end of the fourth quarter which was 45 in the previous quarter.
We discussed IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:IDXX) in another article and shared TimesSquare U.S. Mid Cap Growth Strategy’s views on the company in the previous quarter. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q1 2023 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.
