Baron Funds, an investment management company, released its “Baron Real Estate Fund” first quarter 2025 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. In Q1 2025, stocks were sold due to economic growth slowdown, inflation, and policymaking issues, including Baron Real Estate Fund®, without considering value. The fund declined 6.69% (Institutional Shares) in the quarter compared to a 3.11% decline for the MSCI USA IMI Extended Real Estate Index (the MSCI Real Estate Index) and a 0.76% gain for the MSCI US REIT Index (the REIT Index). In addition, please check the fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2025.
In its first-quarter 2025 investor letter, Baron Real Estate Fund highlighted stocks such as Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS). Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) owns and operates integrated resorts in Macao and Singapore. The one-month return of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) was 29.45%, and its shares lost 9.01% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On May 14, 2025, Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) stock closed at $42.42 per share with a market capitalization of $29.975 billion.
Baron Real Estate Fund stated the following regarding Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) in its Q1 2025 investor letter:
“Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) is a global leader in the development and operation of luxury casino resorts in Macau and Singapore.
At its recent share price of only $33 per share, the company’s shares are valued at only 7.5 times 2025 estimated cash flow (EBITDA), versus a long term average of 14 to 15 times cash flow.
The shares of Las Vegas Sands Corporation underperformed in the first quarter as investors remained concerned about the lack of growth in the Macau market given the ongoing economic challenges in China. There is also uncertainty about the return on investment the company will generate from its recent $2 billion investment in Macau. We are optimistic about the prospects for this investment and believe Las Vegas Sands should capture additional market share and generate a respectable return on capital in 2026.”
The dazzling Las Vegas Strip lined with luxury Integrated Resorts, seen from a high elevation.
Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 49 hedge fund portfolios held Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) at the end of the fourth quarter which was 47 in the previous quarter. While we acknowledge the potential of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter timeframe. If you are looking for an AI stock that is as promising as NVIDIA but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the undervalued AI stock set for massive gains.
In another article, we covered Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) and shared the list of best gambling stocks to buy according to analysts. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q1 2025 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.
