Baron Funds, an investment management company, released its “Baron Focused Growth Fund” fourth quarter 2022 investor letter. A copy of the same can be downloaded here. In the fourth quarter, the fund (Institutional Shares) decreased by 4.52%, compared to a 4.72% rise for the Russell 2500 Growth Index and a 7.56% increase for the S&P 500 Index. For the full year, the fund trailed the primary benchmark the Russell 2500 Growth index and declined 28.14%. In addition, please check the fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2022.
Baron Focused Growth Fund highlighted stocks like Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM) in the Q4 2022 investor letter. Headquartered in McLean, Virginia, Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM) is a mobile voice and data communications services and products provider. On March 3, 2023, Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM) stock closed at $62.57 per share. One-month return of Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM) was 4.90%, and its shares gained 62.18% of their value over the last 52 weeks. Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM) has a market capitalization of $7.882 billion.
Baron Focused Growth Fund made the following comment about Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM) in its Q4 2022 investor letter:
“Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM), a leading mobile voice and data communications services vendor offering global coverage via satellite, increased 15.8% and added 58 bps to performance in the quarter. It increased 24.2% for the year and helped performance by 106 bps. The stock outperformed as the company’s revenue growth accelerated, leading to strong profitability and cash flow, which the company used to buy back its stock. The company continues to benefit from its $3 billion investment in its satellite constellation, which is a technologically and capital-intensive effort and a strong barrier to entry. Iridium continues to generate consistent and growing revenue and cash flow, which should lead to a return of capital to shareholders for at least the next 10 years. That is since its satellites last longer than its competitors’ satellites, and they offer stronger broadband given its low-earth orbit positioning.
Shares of Iridium Communications Inc., a leading mobile voice and data communications services vendor offering global satellite coverage, rose after announcing its first cash dividend as part of its shareholder return program. Expectations for smartphone compatibility remained robust, with record quarterly results showing double-digit growth in commercial service revenue and solid profitability. Initiatives including aircraft tracking system Aireon and enterprise broadband service Certus are maturing. Lastly, Iridium won a $324 million contract from the Space Development Agency.”
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Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 30 hedge fund portfolios held Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM) at the end of the fourth quarter which was 25 in the previous quarter.
We discussed Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM) in another article and shared the list of best telecom stocks to invest in. 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.
