Baron Funds, an investment management company, released its “Baron Small Cap Fund” first-quarter 2024 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. A general sense of optimism was prevalent in the market, driven by the conviction that the economy remained robust, inflation was moderating, and rate cuts were anticipated shortly. Baron Small Cap Fund had an outstanding first quarter and performed well ahead of the Russell 2000 Growth Index (the Benchmark). The fund returned 11.81% (Institutional Shares) in the quarter while the benchmark returned 7.58%. One-third of the benchmark’s performance was driven by the anomalous performance of one stock, Super Micro Computer, Inc, which tripled in the quarter. In addition, please check the fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2024.
Baron Small Cap Fund highlighted stocks like Fox Factory Holding Corp. (NASDAQ:FOXF), in the first quarter 2024 investor letter. Fox Factory Holding Corp. (NASDAQ:FOXF) designs, engineers, manufactures, and markets performance-defining products and systems. The one-month return of Fox Factory Holding Corp. (NASDAQ:FOXF) was 11.11%, and its shares lost 51.80% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On May 24, 2024, Fox Factory Holding Corp. (NASDAQ:FOXF) stock closed at $44.69 per share with a market capitalization of $1.86 billion
Baron Small Cap Fund stated the following regarding Fox Factory Holding Corp. (NASDAQ:FOXF) in its first quarter 2024 investor letter:
“Shares of Fox Factory Holding Corp. (NASDAQ:FOXF), a leading provider of suspension systems and engineered products for the mountain bike, power sport, and off-road truck categories, declined during the quarter following an earnings update that indicated uncertain volumes in its bike and aftermarket truck segments. The company’s challenges are mostly attributable to temporary issues, such as vehicle production delays associated with the 2023 United Auto Workers strike, which is now resolved. We believe Fox Factory is protecting its brand positioning and leading innovation within its categories. As near-term demand headwinds dissipate, Fox Factory should return to strong growth rates in the large automotive aftermarket.”
A cyclist in full gear on their mountain bike, the Performance Cycling Components visible.
Fox Factory Holding Corp.’s (NASDAQ:FOXF) recent earnings call confirmed that it delivered $333.5 million in first-quarter revenue, a 16.60% year-over-year decrease. Fox Factory Holding Corp. (NASDAQ:FOXF) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 23 hedge fund portfolios held Fox Factory Holding Corp. (NASDAQ:FOXF) at the end of the first quarter which was 22 in the previous quarter.
In another article, we discussed Fox Factory Holding Corp. (NASDAQ:FOXF) and shared Conestoga Capital Advisors’ views on the company. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q1 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.
