Baron Funds, an investment management firm, released its “Focused Growth Fund” fourth quarter 2024 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. The fund continued to generate robust absolute and relative results in the fourth quarter. The fund increased 14.49% (Institutional Shares) in the quarter outperforming the Russell 2500 Growth Index’s (the Benchmark) 2.43%. Please spare some time to check the fund’s top 5 holdings to know more about their top bets for 2024.
In its fourth quarter 2024 investor letter, Baron Focused Growth Fund emphasized stocks such as Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:LYV). Headquartered in Beverly Hills, California, Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:LYV) is a live entertainment company. The one-month return of Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:LYV) was 10.41%, and its shares gained 64.37% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On February 19, 2025, Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:LYV) stock closed at $153.67 per share with a market capitalization of $35.436 billion.
Baron Focused Growth Fund stated the following regarding Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:LYV) in its Q4 2024 investor letter:
“In the fourth quarter, we initiated a new position in Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:LYV), the leader in the management and operation of live concerts at their owned and third-party venues. They are a leader in concert venue operations, tour promotions, event ticketing through Ticketmaster, and the selling of sponsorships and advertising on their website and owned venues. Live Nation’s dominant share in ticketing and unmatched scale in concert promotions are key competitive advantages for them and give them the ability to monetize tours through ticketing, sponsorships, and hig-margin food and beverage at their owned and operated venues. Concerts and live events are a secular growing business that we believe should grow at a high single-digit rate for the company as the industry grows and they take share. We believe the company has an opportunity to significantly increase pricing or add new supply given the continued consumer preference for experiences over goods and the scarce nature of these events. The company has an incredible brand, and benefits in both upcycles with strong demand, and downcycles through an increase in supply as touring is a significant part of artists’ incomes. Despite concerns about slower consumer spending growth from peak levels, the company continues to grow at a double-digit rate in revenue despite consumer worries and is now leaning in with increased marketing to grow internationally where it remains underpenetrated. The company is still generating strong cash flow with a robust balance sheet to fund venue renovations where it expects to generate 20% returns on capital. John Malone of Liberty Media still owns 30% of the business with the CEO owning a significant portion of his net worth in the stock. We believe valuation remains attractive at current levels given the double-digit growth we expect in both revenue and earnings over the coming years.”
A group of people in a large music venue, enjoying a vibrant concert.
Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:LYV) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 59 hedge fund portfolios held Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:LYV) at the end of the fourth quarter compared to 44 in the third quarter. While we acknowledge the potential of Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:LYV) 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 Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:LYV) and shared Third Point Management’s views on the company. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q4 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.