Baron Funds, an investment management company, released its “Baron Asset Fund” first quarter 2023 investor letter. A copy of the same can be downloaded here. The fund appreciated 5.34% in the first quarter, trailing the Russell Midcap Growth Index, which returned 9.14%. Stock selection drove the fund to underperform in the quarter. IT, Communication Services, and Consumer Discretionary were the strongest performing sectors, while Energy and Financials were the principal laggards. Furthermore, defensive-oriented sectors, Health Care, Utilities, and Consumer Staples also struggled in the quarter. In addition, please check the fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2023.
Baron Asset Fund highlighted stocks like West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) in the first quarter 2023 investor letter. Headquartered in Exton, Pennsylvania, West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) is a manufacturer of healthcare products and injectable drug packaging. On May 1, 2023, West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) stock closed at $366.13 per share. One-month return of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) was 5.18%, and its shares gained 19.47% of their value over the last 52 weeks. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) has a market capitalization of $27.192 billion.
Baron Asset Fund made the following comment about West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) in its Q1 2023 investor letter:
“West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) manufactures components and systems for the packaging and delivery of injectable drugs such as rubber stoppers for vials and plungers for prefilled syringes. Shares increased after the company reported financial results that beat analyst expectations and provided solid 2023 guidance. Excluding COVID-related product revenue, which fell considerably in the aftermath of the pandemic, organic sales growth was 14% in the recent quarter, and management expects mid-teens base business organic growth in 2023, well above its long-term target. We believe that West’s competitive pricing and favorable product mix, including products used with fast-growing anti-obesity medicines, should help drive future demand. We continue to believe West operates a competitively advantaged business that is well positioned for long-term growth.”
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West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 41 hedge fund portfolios held West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) at the end of the fourth quarter which was 39 in the previous quarter.
We discussed West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) in another article and shared the list of best dividend stocks of 2023. 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.
