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 ANSYS, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANSS) in the first quarter 2023 investor letter. Headquartered in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, ANSYS, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANSS) is an engineering simulation software developer. On May 1, 2023, ANSYS, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANSS) stock closed at $314.17 per share. One-month return of ANSYS, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANSS) was -4.44%, and its shares gained 12.24% of their value over the last 52 weeks. ANSYS, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANSS) has a market capitalization of $27.273 billion.
Baron Asset Fund made the following comment about ANSYS, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANSS) in its Q1 2023 investor letter:
“ANSYS, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANSS) is a leading provider of physics-based simulation software used across a range of design and manufacturing end markets. After declining significantly alongside many high-growth software stocks in 2022, its shares began to recover following a robust quarterly report. ANSYS has benefited from strong secular trends for simulation software, a broad product line, solid execution, and its strategic relationship with its customers. Together, these attributes helped the company grow its revenue and free cash flow well above analysts’ expectations. Despite pockets of general macroeconomic weakness, management described continued traction among many customers and a healthy demand environment, especially in the key verticals of technology, alternative energy, automotive, and aerospace. ANSYS continues to invest in its core technology while adding new capabilities to support future growth initiatives including artificial intelligence and cloud. The company’s multi-year transition of its software licensing model should allow for better predictability of growth and further margin expansion in coming years.”
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ANSYS, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANSS) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 37 hedge fund portfolios held ANSYS, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANSS) at the end of the fourth quarter which was 44 in the previous quarter.
We discussed ANSYS, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANSS) in another article and shared Baron Focused Growth Fund’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.
