Baron Funds, an asset management firm, published its “Baron Discovery Fund” first quarter 2022 investor letter – a copy of which can be downloaded here. In what turned out to be a challenging first quarter, Baron Discovery Fund (the “Fund”) decreased 16.30% (Institutional Shares), which was 3.67% below the Russell 2000 Growth Index (the “Benchmark”). Try to spend some time taking a look at the fund’s top 5 holdings to be informed about their best picks for 2022.
In its Q1 2022 investor letter, Baron Discovery Fund mentioned Axonics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AXNX) and explained its insights for the company. Founded in 2012, Axonics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AXNX) is an Irvine, California-based medical device company with a $2.3 billion market capitalization. Axonics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AXNX) delivered a -11.34% return since the beginning of the year, while its 12-month returns are down by -14.81%. The stock closed at $49.65 per share on June 14, 2022.
Here is what Baron Discovery Fund has to say about Axonics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AXNX) in its Q1 2022 investor letter:
“Axonics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AXNX) a designer and manufacturer of medical devices that treat incontinence, was a positive contributor in the first quarter. In line with its pre-announcement in January 2022, Axonics posted revenues for the fourth quarter of 2021, as well as guidance for 2022 that exceeded consensus. The company’s rechargeable, implantable devices for urge incontinence via sacral neuromodulation (SNM), and its new product (Bulkamid) which is an injectable bulking agent for urinary stress incontinence, are exceeding investor expectations for growth and market penetration. In addition, the company recently obtained approval for its new non-rechargeable SNM device which is expected to be competitive with Medtronic’s (NYSE:MDT), which has the only other product on the market. The rechargeable category represents about 40% of the market for implantable products, so this is a meaningful launch. While COVID (Omicron variant) is expected to have a small impact in the first quarter (to be reported this spring), this should dissipate through the year, and we are excited to see how the company’s newly launched consumer advertising campaign drives demand for its products. The SNM market currently consists of just 45,000 implants annually, which is less than 1% of the 7 million patients who can benefit. Meanwhile, Bulkamid offers a minimally invasive alternative to surgical sling procedures. Surgical slings have not gained much traction and treat only 125,000 women annually vs. the 29 million who can benefit, so we see a significant growth runway for Bulkamid as a safer, easier, and more attractive option. We are excited about the company’s future growth prospects.”
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Our calculations show that Axonics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AXNX) fell short and didn’t make it on our list of the 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. Axonics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AXNX) was in 18 hedge fund portfolios at the end of the first quarter of 2022, compared to 17 funds in the previous quarter. Axonics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AXNX) delivered a -2.80% return in the past 3 months.
In November 2021, we published an article that includes Axonics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AXNX) in the 14 Stocks to Buy According to Daniel Kim’s Blackcrane Capital. You can find other investor letters from hedge funds and prominent investors on our hedge fund investor letters 2022 Q1 page.
Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
