Baron Funds, an investment management company, released its “Baron Health Care Fund” fourth quarter 2022 investor letter. A copy of the same can be downloaded here. In the fourth quarter, the fund increased by 9.08% (Institutional Shares) compared to an 11.54% gain for the Russell 3000 Health Care Index and a 7.56% gain for the S&P 500 Index. The fund fell 16.90% in 2022, compared to a 6.10% decline for the Russell 3000 Health Care Index and an 18.11% decline for the S&P 500 Index. Factors like cash exposure in the up-market, adverse stock selection, and differences in sub-industry exposures led the fund to underperform in the quarter relative to its benchmark. In addition, please check the fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2022.
Baron Funds highlighted stocks like ShockWave Medical, Inc. (NASDAQ:SWAV) in the Q4 2022 investor letter. Headquartered in Santa Clara, California, ShockWave Medical, Inc. (NASDAQ:SWAV) is a medical device company. On January 27, 2023, ShockWave Medical, Inc. (NASDAQ:SWAV) stock closed at $187.83 per share. One-month return of ShockWave Medical, Inc. (NASDAQ:SWAV) was -8.65%, and its shares gained 29.56% of their value over the last 52 weeks. ShockWave Medical, Inc. (NASDAQ:SWAV) has a market capitalization of $6.789 billion.
Baron Funds made the following comment about ShockWave Medical, Inc. (NASDAQ:SWAV) in its Q4 2022 investor letter:
“Negative stock selection in health care equipment was related to sharp declines from fiber optic sensors manufacturer Opsens Inc., intravascular lithotripsy leader ShockWave Medical, Inc. (NASDAQ:SWAV), and transcatheter aortic valve replacement pioneer Edwards Lifesciences Corp. These companies were the top detractors from absolute performance, and we have detailed the reasons for recent share price weakness below.
ShockWave Medical, Inc. provides intravascular lithotripsy for the minimally invasive treatment of arterial plaque. Shares experienced a pullback given ShockWave’s premium valuation, but the company continued to execute on its product for coronary artery disease in the U.S. It also received reimbursement coverage for coronary-related treatment in Japan and its product launch in China remains in the early innings. We think ShockWave has a differentiated technology serving a significant unmet need in arterial disease with potential to expand into treatment of heart valves.”
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ShockWave Medical, Inc. (NASDAQ:SWAV) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 34 hedge fund portfolios held ShockWave Medical, Inc. (NASDAQ:SWAV) at the end of the third quarter, which was 27 in the previous quarter.
We discussed ShockWave Medical, Inc. (NASDAQ:SWAV) in another article and shared Renaissance Investment’s views on the company. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q4 2022 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.
