Baron Funds Believes IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX) has the Strongest Competitive Position Ever

Baron Funds, an asset management company, released its “Baron Asset Fund” investor letter. You can download a copy of the same here. In the second quarter, the fund fell 21.09%. However, the firm believes that the fund is positioned to perform well in the current market concerns of recession and inflation. In addition, you can check the top 5 holdings of the fund to know its best picks in 2022.

In the second quarter investor letter, Baron Funds discussed stocks like IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:IDXX). Headquartered in Westbrook, Maine, IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:IDXX) is a pet healthcare innovation company. On August 29, 2022, IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:IDXX) stock closed at $349.05 per share. One-month return of IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:IDXX) was -12.33% and its shares lost 49.19% of their value over the last 52 weeks. IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:IDXX) has a market capitalization of $29.06 billion.

Here is what Baron Funds specifically said about IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:IDXX):

“Shares of veterinary diagnostics leader IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:IDXX) fell in the quarter. The broader veterinary industry benefited during the pandemic, as the pet population grew and owners working from home were often more attentive to their pets’ well-being. As the pandemic subsides, IDEXX may be adversely impacted by difficult year-over-year growth comparisons, and the company’s overseas’ earnings will likely suffer from the strengthening U.S. dollar.

Nevertheless, we believe that the pandemic accelerated the long-term secular trends impacting pet ownership and pet care, and we believe that foreign exchange rates will eventually move in the opposite direction. Furthermore, we believe that IDEXX’s competitive position is the strongest that it has ever been. We further expect the company’s proprietary testing innovations and its field sales force expansion to meaningfully contribute to its long-term growth rate and operating leverage.”

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IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:IDXX) is not on the list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:IDXX) was held by 40 hedge fund portfolios at the end of the second quarter compared to 46 in the previous quarter.

We discussed IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:IDXX) in another article and shared Baron Funds’ views on the company. You can check out our hedge fund investor letters Q2 2022 page for more investor letters from hedge funds and other prominent investors.

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