Ariel Investments, an investment management company, released its “Ariel Appreciation Fund” first-quarter 2024 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. The Ariel Appreciation fund increased +4.06% in the quarter, trailing the +8.23% and +8.60% returns of the Russell Midcap Value and Russell Midcap indices. Except for real estate, all sectors in the S&P 500 saw increases, even though momentum was the main factor influencing performance across size and style. In addition, you can check the top 5 holdings of the fund to know its best picks in 2024.
Ariel Appreciation Fund highlighted stocks like Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO) in the first quarter 2024 investor letter. Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO) manufactures and distributes life science research and clinical diagnostic products. The one-month return of Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO) was -4.71%, and its shares lost 25.66% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On June 13, 2024, Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO) stock closed at $281.80 per share with a market capitalization of $8.047 billion.
Ariel Appreciation Fund stated the following regarding Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO) in its first quarter 2024 investor letter:
“Also in the quarter, we initiated a new position in manufacturer and developer of laboratory equipment and biological testing, Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO). The company offers a worldwide presence with the United States representing 42% of revenue, Europe 31%, Asia 21% and Other 6%. Its customer base is diversified with hospital labs representing 34% of revenue, reference labs 11%, transfusion labs 10%, academic 21%, biopharma 15%, and applied markets 9%. BIO boasts a solid financial profile, rising operating margins, high and recurring revenue streams. We believe Bio-Rad is a classic Ariel company, offering leading innovative products in a growing worldwide marketplace. The company estimates 80% of sales are from products in which Bio-Rad has dominant market share.”
Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO) is not on our list of 31 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 42 hedge fund portfolios held Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO) at the end of the first quarter which was 50 in the previous quarter. While we acknowledge the potential of Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO) 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 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.