Baron Funds, an investment management company, released its “Baron Asset Fund” third quarter 2024 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. US equities ended the quarter higher for the fourth quarter in a row. The Fed’s long-awaited interest rate cuts and generally positive economic data caused a significant shift from large-cap, Magnificent Seven, growth, and momentum stocks toward value, cyclical, and small-cap stocks. Against this backdrop, Baron Asset Fund returned 8.34% (Institutional Shares) in the quarter, outperforming the Russell Midcap Growth Index’s 6.54% return. The stock returns in the quarter were driven by Earnings Quality and the favorable environment for the firm’s investment strategy. In addition, please check the fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2024.
Baron Asset Fund highlighted stocks like The Cooper Companies, Inc. (NASDAQ:COO) in the third quarter 2024 investor letter. The Cooper Companies, Inc. (NASDAQ:COO) manufactures and markets contact lens wearers that operate through CooperVision and CooperSurgical segments. The one-month return of The Cooper Companies, Inc. (NASDAQ:COO) was -3.03%, and its shares gained 31.93% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On October 29, 2024, The Cooper Companies, Inc. (NASDAQ:COO) stock closed at $104.53 per share with a market capitalization of $20.818 billion.
Baron Asset Fund stated the following regarding The Cooper Companies, Inc. (NASDAQ:COO) in its Q3 2024 investor letter:
“Health Care was another standout sector thanks to strong performance from The Cooper Companies, Inc. (NASDAQ:COO), a medical device company with two business units: CooperVision, a leading manufacturer of soft contact lenses; and CooperSurgical, which targets women’s health care and fertility. Cooper’s stock increased after impressive second quarter results. We expect continued solid earnings growth in its core contact lens business, driven by price increases, additional manufacturing capacity coming online, continuing mix improvement, the likelihood of lower interest expense (both from debt repayment and lower rates) and the dissipation of FX headwinds.”
A doctor wearing gloves and a mask holding a pair of contact lenses in their hand.
The Cooper Companies, Inc. (NASDAQ:COO) is not on our list of 31 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 39 hedge fund portfolios held The Cooper Companies, Inc. (NASDAQ:COO) at the end of the second quarter which was 41 in the previous quarter. The Cooper Companies, Inc.’s (NASDAQ:COO) consolidated quarterly revenues for the third quarter were slightly over $1 billion, up 8% year-over-year. While we acknowledge the potential of The Cooper Companies, Inc. (NASDAQ:COO) 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 The Cooper Companies, Inc. (NASDAQ:COO) and shared Baron Health Care Fund’s views on the company in Q4 2023. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q3 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.