Ariel Investments, an investment management company, released its “Ariel Focus Fund” third-quarter 2024 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. Due to the economy’s resilience and forecasters’ expectations of a soft landing, all major U.S. indices enjoyed gains in the third quarter. In the third quarter, the fund returned +10.61%, outperforming the +9.43% return for the Russell 1000 Value Index and the +5.89% return for the S&P 500 Index. In addition, please check the fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2024.

Ariel Focus Fund highlighted stocks like Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO) in the third quarter 2024 investor letter. Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO) manufactures and distributes life science research and clinical diagnostic products. The one-month return of Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO) was 10.53%, and its shares gained 18.78% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On November 12, 2024, Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO) stock closed at $364.53 per share with a market capitalization of $10.055 billion.

Ariel Focus Fund stated the following regarding Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO) in its Q3 2024 investor letter:

"We initiated a new position in manufacturer and developer of laboratory equipment and biological testing, Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO). The company offers a worldwide presence with the United States representing 42% of revenue, Europe 31%, Asia 21% and Other 6%. Its customer base is diversified with hospital labs representing 34% of revenue, reference labs 11%, transfusion labs 10%, academic/government 21%, biopharma 15%, and applied markets 9%. BIO boasts a solid financial profile, rising operating margins, high and recurring revenue streams. We believe Bio-Rad is a classic Ariel company, offering leading innovative products in a growing worldwide marketplace. The company estimates 80% of sales are from products in which Bio-Rad has dominant market share."

A biopharmaceutical research lab with a team of scientists working on immunomodulatory therapies.

Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO) is not on our list of 31 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 29 hedge fund portfolios held Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO) at the end of the second quarter which was 42 in the previous quarter. While we acknowledge the potential of Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO) 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 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.