Baron Funds, an investment management company, released its “Baron Asset Fund” first quarter 2024 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. US markets continued its strong rally in the first quarter. Robust economic data and relatively strong corporate earnings boosted the rally along with the anticipation of a soft landing of the market. The fund (Institutional Shares) appreciated 6.00% in the quarter compared to 9.50% for the Russell Midcap Growth Index and 10.56% for the S&P 500 Index. Stock selection and headwinds from the Fund’s longtime style biases led the fund to underperform in the first quarter. In addition, please check the fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2024.
Baron Asset Fund featured stocks like Bio-Techne Corporation (NASDAQ:TECH) in the first quarter 2024 investor letter. Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Bio-Techne Corporation (NASDAQ:TECH) develops and manufactures regent solutions, instruments, and services for research and clinical diagnostic markets. On May 13, 2024, Bio-Techne Corporation (NASDAQ:TECH) stock closed at $81.97 per share. One-month return of Bio-Techne Corporation (NASDAQ:TECH) was 28.06%, and its shares gained 0.04% of their value over the last 52 weeks. Bio-Techne Corporation (NASDAQ:TECH) has a market capitalization of $12.917 billion.
Baron Asset Fund stated the following regarding Bio-Techne Corporation (NASDAQ:TECH) in its first quarter 2024 investor letter:
“Bio-Techne Corporation (NASDAQ:TECH) is a leading developer and manufacturer of reagents, instruments, and services for the life sciences research, diagnostics, and bioprocessing markets. The stock detracted from performance after the company reported weak fourth-quarter financial results, including a 2% decline in organic growth, driven by a slowdown in China and ongoing funding constraints for biotechnology customers. While management noted that business in China has stabilized and the funding environment has started to recover, it did not forecast marked improvement until later in 2024. We believe these headwinds are cyclical, and we are encouraged by some signs of stabilization in the company’s business. We continue to believe Bio-Techne is well positioned for long-term growth.”
A closeup shot of a laboratory technician handling a medical device used for fertility treatments.
Bio-Techne Corporation (NASDAQ:TECH) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. At the end of the fourth quarter, Bio-Techne Corporation (NASDAQ:TECH) was held by 23 hedge fund portfolios, compared to 25 in the previous quarter, according to our database. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q1 2024 page for more investor letters from hedge funds and other leading investors.
We discussed Bio-Techne Corporation (NASDAQ:TECH) in another article and shared the list of the biggest biotechnology companies in the world. Polen Capital added Bio-Techne Corporation (NASDAQ:TECH) to its portfolio last quarter and shared optimism in its long-term growth prospects.
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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
