Baron Funds, an investment management company, released its “Baron Fifth Avenue Growth Fund” first quarter 2024 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. The fund increased 12.6% (Institutional Shares) in the first quarter compared to an 11.4% gain for the Russell 1000 Growth Index and a 10.6% increase for the S&P 500 Index. Despite higher interest rates, the US economy continues to surpass expectations. In addition, please check the fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2024.
Baron Fifth Avenue Growth Fund highlighted stocks like Rivian Automotive, Inc. (NASDAQ:RIVN), in the first quarter 2024 investor letter. Rivian Automotive, Inc. (NASDAQ:RIVN) designs, develops, manufactures, and sells electric vehicles and accessories. The one-month return of Rivian Automotive, Inc. (NASDAQ:RIVN) was 11.30%, and its shares lost 31.04% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On May 24, 2024, Rivian Automotive, Inc. (NASDAQ:RIVN) stock closed at $10.44 per share with a market capitalization of $10.391 billion
Baron Fifth Avenue Growth Fund stated the following regarding Rivian Automotive, Inc. (NASDAQ:RIVN) in its first quarter 2024 investor letter:
“Shares of Rivian Automotive, Inc. (NASDAQ:RIVN), a U.S.-based EV manufacturer, declined 53.3% in the first quarter. Despite substantial improvements in production and delivery volumes in 2023, as well as an improvement in unit economics, Rivian’s business remains constrained by its limited scale, which creates pressure on gross margins, and contributes to the company’s elevated cash burn. Additionally, Rivian expects to temporarily shut down its production facilities for upgrades, impeding anticipated production growth in 2024. Compounding these challenges is the potential for demand headwinds due to the continued complex macro environment, and the relatively small automotive segments that Rivian’s initial products target. Nevertheless, the recent unveiling of Rivian’s mass-market products, the R2 and R3, garnered enthusiastic responses, evidenced by over 68,000 pre-orders within the first 20 hours post-launch. In a strategic move, management opted to produce the R2 in Rivian’s existing facility, deferring the construction of a new factory. This decision should help reduce mid-term capital expenditure obligations while ensuring higher utilization of current facilities as the R2 ramps production in 2025. We remain shareholders.”
A state-of-the-art electric vehicle charging at a station at a suburban mall.
Rivian Automotive, Inc. (NASDAQ:RIVN) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 26 hedge fund portfolios held Rivian Automotive, Inc. (NASDAQ:RIVN) at the end of the first quarter which was 32 in the previous quarter.
In another article, we discussed Rivian Automotive, Inc. (NASDAQ:RIVN) and shared the list of best EV charging stocks to invest in. Baron Fifth Avenue Growth Fund added Rivian Automotive, Inc. (NASDAQ:RIVN) to its portfolio in the second quarter 2023. 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.
