Polen Capital, an investment management company, released its “Polen Focus Growth Strategy” first-quarter 2026 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. The first quarter of 2026 was highly volatile for US equities, driven by AI disruption concerns and the US-Israel conflict in Iran and the Middle East. In this backdrop, the Polen Focus Growth Strategy declined 17.16% in the quarter, compared to a -9.78% return for the Russell 1000 Growth and -4.33% return for the S&P 500. The Strategy focuses on mission-critical businesses with recurring revenue and competitive advantages and capitalizes on the volatility to increase investments in software and semiconductor companies. The Strategy remains confident in the long-term potential of the Portfolio, emphasizing businesses with strong economic moats, robust balance sheets, and multi-year earnings growth. In addition, please check the Strategy’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2026.
In its first-quarter 2026 investor letter, Polen Focus Growth Strategy highlighted stocks like Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT). Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) is a healthcare and medical devices company. On April 28, 2026, Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) closed at $93.86 per share. One-month return of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) was -8.32%, and its shares lost 28.21% over the past 52 weeks. Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) has a market capitalization of $163.1 billion.
Polen Focus Growth Strategy stated the following regarding Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) in its Q1 2026 investor letter:
“At the same time, we exited our position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) during the quarter, following a prior reduction after the company announced its acquisition of Exact Sciences. The size and dilutive nature of the deal raised concerns around capital allocation, which were reinforced by disappointing Q4 results that showed weaker than-expected organic revenue growth. With business momentum deteriorating and increased uncertainty tied to the acquisition, we believe stepping aside is the prudent course for now.”
Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) is not on our list of 40 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds Heading Into 2026. According to our database, 71 hedge fund portfolios held Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) at the end of the fourth quarter, up from 68 in the previous quarter. While we acknowledge the risk and potential of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) 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 Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) and that has 10,000% upside potential, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.
In another article, we covered Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) and shared the list of best bear market stocks to invest in. 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.
