Baron Funds, an investment management company, released its “Baron Health Care Fund” second quarter 2024 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. The fund declined 2.55% (Institutional Shares) in the quarter compared to a 1.02% decline for the Russell 3000 Health Care Index (benchmark) and a 3.22% gain for the Russell 3000 Index (the Index). The underperformance in the quarter was due to active sub-industry/market cap weights. In addition, please check the fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2024.
Baron Health Care Fund highlighted stocks like Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE:BSX), in the Q2 2024 investor letter. Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE:BSX) manufactures and markets medical devices for use in various interventional medical specialties. The one-month return of Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE:BSX) was -1.62%, and its shares gained 48.19% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On August 1, 2024, Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE:BSX) stock closed at $75.16 per share with a market capitalization of $110.499 billion.
Baron Health Care Fund stated the following regarding Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE:BSX) in its Q2 2024 investor letter:
“Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE:BSX) is a global manufacturer of medical devices used in a broad range of interventional medical specialties. Shares increased during the quarter. We believe Boston Scientific can grow sustainably in the high single digits, driven by differentiated products in electrophysiology and structural heart devices. In particular, there has been increasing excitement around the emerging field of PFA, where the company is well positioned. Traditionally, physicians have used temperature-based methods to disable heart tissue responsible for irregular heartbeats. Temperature-based methods may damage surrounding tissue, while PFA relies on electricity to damage aberrant tissue, and because different types of tissue have different electrical thresholds, the surrounding tissue can be selectively spared. Coupled with cost discipline and more than 50 basis points of annual operating margin expansion, we believe Boston Scientific’s double-digit EPS growth profile makes it a compelling name within the medical device universe.”
A surgeon examining a patient’s brain in an operating room, paramedics nearby.
Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE:BSX) is not on our list of 31 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 72 hedge fund portfolios held Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE:BSX) at the end of the first quarter which was 71 in the previous quarter. Boston Scientific Corporation’s (NYSE:BSX) second-quarter consolidated revenue was reported at $4.120 billion, up 14.5% from Q2 2023. While we acknowledge the potential of Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE:BSX) 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 another article, we discussed Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE:BSX) and shared Aristotle Atlantic Core Equity Strategy’s views on the company. Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE:BSX) was one of the top contributors to Baron Health Care Fund last quarter. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q2 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.