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 Edwards Lifesciences Corporation (NYSE:EW) in the Q4 2022 investor letter. Headquartered in Irvine, California, Edwards Lifesciences Corporation (NYSE:EW) is a medical technology company. On January 27, 2023, Edwards Lifesciences Corporation (NYSE:EW) stock closed at $78.14 per share. One-month return of Edwards Lifesciences Corporation (NYSE:EW) was 4.73%, and its shares lost 28.44% of their value over the last 52 weeks. Edwards Lifesciences Corporation (NYSE:EW) has a market capitalization of $48.311 billion.
Baron Funds made the following comment about Edwards Lifesciences Corporation (NYSE:EW) 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., and transcatheter aortic valve replacement pioneer Edwards Lifesciences Corporation (NYSE:EW) These companies were the top detractors from absolute performance, and we have detailed the reasons for recent share price weakness below.
Edwards Lifesciences Corp. is the leading provider of valves for patients with heart disease. Shares fell after the company’s transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) business missed Street expectations again. Management attributed the sales shortfall to disruption from hospital staffing shortages, an issue that has an outsized impact on TAVR procedures because they are resource-intensive and require multiple specialists. We reduced the position due to increased uncertainty around the growth outlook.”
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Edwards Lifesciences Corporation (NYSE:EW) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 57 hedge fund portfolios held Edwards Lifesciences Corporation (NYSE:EW) at the end of the third quarter, which was 39 in the previous quarter.
We discussed Edwards Lifesciences Corporation (NYSE:EW) in another article and shared Wedgewood Partners’ 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.
