Loomis Sayles, an investment management company, released its “Global Growth Fund” investor letter for the first quarter of 2026. A copy of the letter is available to download here. The fund reported -13.09% in the first quarter, lagging the MSCI ACWI Index Net’s -3.20% return. Stock selection in the financials and information technology sectors contributed positively to relative performance. The Firm maintained a long-term investment strategy, concentrating on high-quality businesses with sustainable competitive advantages and profitable growth when available at discounts to intrinsic value. Please review the Fund’s top five holdings to gain insights into their key selections for 2026.
In its first-quarter 2026 investor letter, Loomis Sayles Global Growth Fund highlighted Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) as a leading contributor. Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) is a global healthcare company specializing in the development and manufacturing of pharmaceutical medicines. On May 20, 2026, Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) closed at $150.45 per share. One-month return of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) was 2.01%, and its shares gained 33.73% over the past 52 weeks. Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) has a market capitalization of $287.07 billion.
Loomis Sayles Global Growth Fund stated the following regarding Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) in its Q1 2026 investor letter:
“Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) is a diversified global healthcare company with market leadership in branded pharmaceuticals across a broad range of treatment areas, including oncology (30% of revenues), immunology (almost 20% of revenues), cardiovascular, renal, and metabolic (almost 20%), and neurology (10%). The company also derives over 20% of revenues from mature branded products in non-core therapy areas. With the October 2023 spinoff of the company’s Sandoz generics and biosimilars division, which followed the 2019 spinoff of ophthalmologic equipment maker Alcon and 2018 divestiture of a consumer health joint venture, the company is now 100% focused on innovative medicines, which accounted for about 80% of revenue and 85% of core operating income prior to the Sandoz spinoff. The company generates approximately 50% of revenue from the Americas, 30% from Europe, and 20% from the rest of the world.
A holding in the fund since inception, Novartis reported quarterly financial results that were fundamentally solid but slightly below consensus expectations for revenue. The company provided guidance for 2026 that included low-single-digit revenue growth, despite the largest patent expiry in the company’s history as Entresto, Promacta, and Tasigna all started facing generic competition in 2025. We believe Novartis’ narrowed focus on branded innovative medicines, a pipeline increasingly focused on high-value transformative innovations with substantial end markets, and a broad portfolio that continues to have multiple growth drivers, leave the company well-positioned for sustained future growth over our long-term investment horizon. In addition, we believe the company is seeing the fruits of its shift in research and development (R&D) efforts over the last decade begin to materialize in the form of novel drug launches, such as Pluvicto, a first-in-class radioligand therapy used to treat prostate cancer, and Leqvio, a treatment for cardiovascular disease, with many more expected over the coming years….” (Click here to read the full text)
Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) is not on our list of 40 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds Heading Into 2026. According to our database, 35 hedge fund portfolios held Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) at the end of the fourth quarter, up from 33 in the previous quarter. While we acknowledge the risk and potential of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) 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 Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) and that has 10,000% upside potential, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.
In another article, we covered Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) and shared the list of best cancer stocks to buy for the long term. 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.
