Baron Funds, an investment management company, released its “Baron Partners Fund” second quarter 2024 investor letter. The fund rose modestly in the second quarter and exceeded its primary benchmark, the Russell Midcap Growth Index. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. The Fund rose 1.02% (institutional Shares) in the quarter and the index declined 3.21%. The fund owns competitively advantaged, well-managed, principally publicly owned, growth businesses. In addition, you can check the fund’s top 5 holdings to determine its best picks for 2024.
Baron Partners Fund highlighted stocks like Vail Resorts, Inc. (NYSE:MTN) in the Q2 2024 investor letter. Headquartered in Broomfield, Colorado, Vail Resorts, Inc. (NYSE:MTN) is a mountain resorts and ski areas operator. The one-month return of Vail Resorts, Inc. (NYSE:MTN) was -7.74%, and its shares lost 25.56% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On August 12, 2024, Vail Resorts, Inc. (NYSE:MTN) stock closed at $168.84 per share with a market capitalization of $6.352 billion.
Baron Partners Fund stated the following regarding Vail Resorts, Inc. (NYSE:MTN) in its Q2 2024 investor letter:
“Shares of global ski resort operator Vail Resorts, Inc. (NYSE:MTN) declined in the second quarter due to a slowdown in season pass sales and a disappointing ski season in Australia. We retain conviction. Vail has said that it believes skiers are delaying buying season passes given poor snow conditions for the past two seasons, and it still expects to generate almost $950 million in season pass revenue this year, representing close to a third of 2023 revenue. An 8% increase in prices combined with a favorable year-over-year comparison should result in a double-digit increase in EBITDA with strong FCF generation. The company is now trading at more than 6% FCF yield, all of which is being returned to shareholders through dividends and share buybacks.”
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Vail Resorts, Inc. (NYSE:MTN) is not on our list of 31 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 27 hedge fund portfolios held Vail Resorts, Inc. (NYSE:MTN) at the end of the first quarter which was 38 in the previous quarter. Vail Resorts, Inc.’s (NYSE:MTN) net income for the third quarter of fiscal 2024 was $362 million, or $9.54 per diluted share, up from $325 million, or $8.18 per diluted share, in the prior year. While we acknowledge the potential of Vail Resorts, Inc. (NYSE:MTN) 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 another article, we discussed Vail Resorts, Inc. (NYSE:MTN) and shared Artisan Mid Cap Value Fund’s views on the company. 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.
