Here’s Why Baron Funds Sold its IQVIA Position

Baron Funds, an asset management firm, published its “Baron Durable Advantage Fund” first quarter 2022 investor letter – a copy of which can be downloaded here. Baron Durable Advantage Fund (the “Fund”) declined 10.3% (Institutional Shares) during the first quarter, compared to the 4.6% decline for the S&P 500 Index (the “Index”), the Fund’s benchmark. Try to spend some time looking at the fund’s top 5 holdings to be informed about their best picks for 2022.

In its Q1 2022 investor letter, Baron Durable Advantage Fund mentioned IQVIA Holdings Inc. (NYSE:IQV) and explained its insights for the company. Founded in 1982, IQVIA Holdings Inc. (NYSE:IQV) is a Durham, North Carolina-based pharmaceutical industry company with a $39.4 billion market capitalization. IQVIA Holdings Inc. (NYSE:IQV) delivered a -26.74% return since the beginning of the year, while its 12-month returns are down by -10.36%. The stock closed at $206.69 per share on May 17, 2022.

Here is what Baron Durable Advantage Fund has to say about IQVIA Holdings Inc. (NYSE:IQV) in its Q1 2022 investor letter:

“Shares of Iqvia Holdings Inc. (NYSE:IQV), the leading global contract research organization offering outsourced drug development services to biopharmaceutical companies, fell 23.2% on a rotation out of higher-valued 2021 outperformers as well as growing concerns over moderating biotechnology funding levels and a potential shift in competitive dynamics with the growing focus on healthcare data solutions by competitors. We decided to exit our position and reallocate to higher conviction ideas.”

Photo by National Cancer Institute on Unsplash

Our calculations show that IQVIA Holdings Inc. (NYSE:IQV) fell short and didn’t make it on our list of the 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. IQVIA Holdings Inc. (NYSE:IQV) was in 63 hedge fund portfolios at the end of the fourth quarter of 2021, compared to 66 funds in the previous quarter. IQVIA Holdings Inc. (NYSE:IQV) delivered a -9.60% return in the past 3 months.

In January 2022, we also shared another hedge fund’s views on IQVIA Holdings Inc. (NYSE:IQV) in another article. You can find other investor letters from hedge funds and prominent investors on our hedge fund investor letters 2022 Q1 page.

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