Ariel Investments, an investment management company, released its “Ariel Appreciation Fund” first-quarter 2025 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. In the first quarter, investors fled to shelter as hopes for another year of U.S. outperformance, driven by economic momentum and the new administration's pro-business approach swiftly gave way to tariff fears and policy uncertainty, causing most of the major U.S. indices to close the quarter in the red. Against this backdrop, the fund returned -6.94% in the first quarter underperforming the Russell Midcap Value Index’s -2.11% returns, and the Russell Midcap Index’s -3.40% returns. In addition, please check the fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2025.

In its first-quarter 2025 investor letter, Ariel Appreciation Fund highlighted stocks such as Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO). Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO) is a life science company that manufactures and distributes life science research and clinical diagnostic products. The one-month return of Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO) was -4.22%, and its shares lost 16.97% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On April 21, 2025, Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO) stock closed at $236.88 per share with a market capitalization of $6.691 billion.

Ariel Appreciation Fund stated the following regarding Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO) in its Q1 2025 investor letter:

"Alternatively, manufacturer and developer of laboratory equipment and biological testing, Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO), declined over the period after the National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced significant cuts to its internal funding structure. Management also issued disappointing guidance on continued softness in the biopharma and academic research segments as well as uncertainty in the funding environment. Despite the challenging backdrop, we believe the company offers a solid financial profile, including recurring revenue streams and rising operating profit margins."

A research scientist in a lab wearing safety glasses, surrounded by laboratory equipment testing life science samples.

Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 42 hedge fund portfolios held Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO) at the end of the fourth quarter which was 38 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 another article, we covered Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO) and shared Longleaf Partners Fund's views on the company. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q1 2025 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.