Longleaf Partners, managed by Southeastern Asset Management, released its “Partners Fund” second quarter 2024 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. The fund returned -6.31% in the second quarter, compared to S&P’s 4.28% return and Russell 1000 Value’s -2.17% return. There weren’t enough big winners in the portfolio, and the relative performance was disappointing because there were more 10%+ decliners. Conversely, the stock price declines were overreactions, and as a result, the quarter’s aggregate value per share performance exceeded the stock price performance. For more information on the fund’s best picks in 2024, please check its top five holdings.
Longleaf Partners Fund highlighted stocks like Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO), in the second quarter 2024 investor letter. Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO) manufactures and distributes life science research and clinical diagnostic products. The one-month return of Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO) was 15.40%, and its shares lost 24.35% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On July 25, 2024, Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO) stock closed at $315.17 per share with a market capitalization of $8.884 billion.
Longleaf Partners Fund stated the following regarding Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO) in its Q2 2024 investor letter:
“Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO) – Life sciences company Bio-Rad was the top detractor in the quarter. The company was one of our new investments last year, and so far, we have been early on our expectations for their life sciences business to return to more normal pre-COVID growth trends. We still believe that growth tailwinds are delayed, not derailed, and there have been no new material threats to Bio-Rad’s competitive position since we established our position last year. We are encouraged by the company’s use of a strong balance sheet to repurchase shares opportunistically. Current margins are below peer levels, suggesting potential for improvement, thereby further increasing FCF per share. The market also continues to undervalue their multi-billion-dollar stake in Sartorius. We anticipate Bio-Rad will return to solid growth. Many of its peers are valued as if this growth is already occurring, even in this tough industry environment. While we can’t predict the exact timing, we believe this recovery will happen sooner than the market expects.”
A biopharmaceutical laboratory, with researchers carefully studying a vial of dimethyl fumarate.
Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO) is not on our list of 31 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO) was held by 42 hedge fund portfolios at the end of the first quarter, compared to 50 in the previous quarter, according to our database. While we acknowledge the potential of Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO) 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 cheapest AI stock.
In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q2 2024 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.
