Polen Capital, an investment management company, released its “Polen Global SMID Company Growth Strategy” first-quarter 2023 investor letter. A copy of the same can be downloaded here. The portfolio returned 9.05% gross and 8.89% net of fees in the first quarter compared to a 4.28% return on the MSCI ACWI SMID Capitalization Index. Stock selection and sector allocation led the strategy to outperform in the quarter. In addition, please check the fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2023.
Polen Global SMID Company Growth Strategy highlighted stocks like Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN) in the first quarter 2023 investor letter. Headquartered in Tempe, Arizona, Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN) is a medical device company. On June 21, 2023, Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN) stock closed at $330.71 per share. One-month return of Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN) was 18.08%, and its shares gained 31.69% of their value over the last 52 weeks. Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN) has a market capitalization of $25.305 billion.
Polen Global SMID Company Growth Strategy made the following comment about Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN) in its first quarter 2023 investor letter:
“We initiated a position in Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN), a global medical device company best known for its “Invisalign” clear aligners, having created the clear aligner category in 1999. Since that time, it has been a disruptor of the traditional use of wire and bracket braces to straighten teeth and treat malocclusions. While it is leader in the clear aligner category with roughly 85-90% market share, the bigger competition is taking share from wire and brackets and on that measure, it only has 10-15% share of the overall teeth straightening market. Over time, through innovation and vertical integration, the company has evolved to be able to treat over 90% of all cases. Further, it has done a great job deepening relationships with orthodontists and general practitioner dentists over time. All in all, we believe this is a business with a durable competitive advantage, operating in a large, growing and very attractive industry, led by a proven and long-term oriented management team, with a very long runway ahead of it to grow and compound at very attractive rates.”
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Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 39 hedge fund portfolios held Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN) at the end of first quarter 2023 which was 34 in the previous quarter.
We discussed Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN) in another article and shared the list of companies that announced huge share buybacks recently. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q1 2023 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.
