We eliminated our small investment in athenahealth, Inc. (ATHN, Financial) during the quarter. Although we think athena has a unique business model and best-in-class offering, we lack conviction in the company’s ability to overcome end market challenges (such as fewer opportunities and elongated sales cycles in the ambulatory market, and a trend among clients towards using one vendor for both hospital and ambulatory, a trend which favors competitors like Epic and Cerner) and decided to make room for other new ideas. We continue to monitor the company’s progress and may reconsider the investment thesis in the future.
From Baron Funds' Fifth Avenue Growth Fund fourth quarter 2016 commentary.
