According to GuruFocus data, the largest Insider Buys this week were for NetApp Inc. (NTAP), Jack Henry & Associates Inc. (JKHY), Guidewire Software Inc. (GWRE) and Arvinas Inc. (ARVN).

NetApp Inc. Executive Vice President of Finance and Operations and Chief Financial Officer Michael J. Berry bought 15,000 shares

EVP of Finance and Operations / CFO Michael J. Berry bought 15,000 shares on Dec. 17 at the average price of $63.89. The price of the stock has increased by 2.99% since.

NetApp Inc. is an American international technology company that focuses on data management services through the cloud. The company provides

Shares of P&C insurance software vendor Guidewire Software,Inc. (GWRE) detracted from performance. The company's transition to the cloud has caused short-term financial headwinds and slowed the cadence of new license sales. We retain conviction. We believe new products and cloud delivery will triple Guidewire's total addressable market. Over time, we think Guidewire will become the key software vendor for the global P&C insurance industry, capturing 30% to 50% of its $15 billion to $30 billion market and generating margins in excess of 40%.

From [url=https://www.gurufocus.com/StockBuy.php?GuruName=Ron+Baron]Ron Baron[/url] ([url=https://www.gurufocus.com/StockBuy.php?GuruName=Ron+Baron]Trades[/url], [url=https://www.gurufocus.com/holdings.php?GuruName=Ron+Baron]Portfolio[/url])'s Baron Partners Fund third-quarter 2020 shareholder letter.

Jerome Dodson (Trades, Portfolio)'s Parnassus Fund sold shares of the following stocks during its third quarter of fiscal 2020, which ended on Sept. 30.

Trimble

The firm closed its position in Trimble Inc. (TRMB). The trade had an impact of -2.09% on the portfolio.

The company, which provides location-based solutions, has a market cap of $13.09 billion and an enterprise value of $14.84 billion.

GuruFocus gives the company a profitability and growth rating of 8 out of 10. The return on equity of 16.03% and return on assets of 7.61%

The Hickory Fund returned +18.24% in the second calendar quarter compared to +24.61% for the Russell Midcap Index (the Fund’s primary benchmark). For the calendar year to date, the Fund returned -14.50% compared to -9.13% for the Russell Midcap.

Last quarter, we described the investment backdrop as suffering from the onset of the COVID-19 outbreak. Stock prices plummeted as the economy ground to a halt. Investors understood that the lockdown would inevitably lead to a recession but could not predict the depth or duration of the downturn. Against this backdrop, we adopted a cautious posture. Through its massive, late March

Ron Baron (Trades, Portfolio), leader of Baron Capital Management, disclosed this week his firm expanded its position in Endava PLC (DAVA) by 31.42% on June 30.

The guru’s New York-based firm implements a bottom-up research process to find small and mid-size growth companies with open-ended opportunities and significant competitive advantages to invest in for the long term while they are trading at attractive prices. Baron, who manages the Baron Asset Fund, the Baron Growth Fund and Baron Partners Fund, is also known for ignoring short-term market fluctuations, especially when he believes the fundamental reasons for purchasing the

Investors may want to consider the following companies as they have grown their capital spending impressively over the past three years. This suggests these companies could expect a higher demand for their products and services in the future.

Furthermore, Wall Street sell-side analysts forecast that these stocks will increase their earnings per share significantly over the next five years.

GrowGeneration

The first company under consideration is GrowGeneration Corp. (GRWG), a Denver-based hydroponic and organic gardening retailer in the U.S.

The company allocated $2.23 million to the purchase of property and equipment in full fiscal 2019, marking an impressive growth from

Tom Gayner (Trades, Portfolio), co-CEO of Markel Corp. (MKL), disclosed this week that his five new buys for the first quarter were Guidewire Software Inc. (GWRE), American Airlines Group Inc. (AAL), Eastman Chemical Co. (EMN), Lamar Advertising Co. (LAMR) and Twitter Inc. (TWTR).

Managing a portfolio of 131 stocks, Gayner operates with a margin of safety in his company’s investment portfolio. The chief investment officer of the Richmond, Virginia-based insurance company detailed in his 2019 annual report a four-part discipline for investing in stock equities: a good rate of return with low leverage, solid management team with

According to GuruFocus, these stocks have reached their 52-week highs.

Lam Research Corp reached the 52-week high of $339.30

Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) manufactures equipment used to fabricate semiconductors. The firm is focused on the etch, deposition and clean markets, which are key steps in the semiconductor manufacturing process. Lam's flagship Kiyo, Vector, and Sabre products are sold in all major geographies to key customers such as Samsung Electronics and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing.

The price of Lam Research Corp. shares has reached $339.30, which is 1.5% off the 52-week high of $344.32. Lam Research

Weitz Investment Management leader Wallace Weitz (Trades, Portfolio) revealed last week he trimmed his long-held Intelligent Systems Corp. (INS) stake by 13.12%.

When picking stocks, the investor’s Omaha, Nebraska-based firm combines Benjamin Graham’s price sensitivity and insistence on margin of safety with a conviction that qualitative factors that allow the company to control its destiny can be more important than statistical values like book value and earnings.

According to GuruFocus Real-Time Picks, a Premium feature, the guru sold 284,095 shares of the Norcross, Georgia-based software company on Dec. 31, impacting the equity portfolio by -0.47%. The

To increase the odds of unearthing high-quality companies, Benjamin Graham, the father of value investing, recommended investors look for stocks with a current ratio of more than two and a higher working capital than long-term debt.

These companies have the potential to largely beat their average competitor, regardless of the business cycle’s phase.

The current ratio, which is calculated as total current assets divided by total current liabilities, assesses the ability of the company to pay short-term financial obligations.

The working capital ratio, which is total current assets minus total current liabilities, measures the company’s ability to continue to operate

Dear Baron Focused Growth Fund Shareholder:

Performance

Baron Focused Growth Fund (the “Fund”) declined 0.44% (Institutional Shares) in the third quarter. The Russell 2500 Growth Index (the “Index”), the benchmark against which we compare the performance of the Fund, declined 3.18% and the S&P 500 Index rose by 1.70%. The Fund’s outperformance in the period versus its benchmark index was driven by gains in three of the Fund’s top five positions. These three stocks were responsible for 200 basis points (“bps”) of gains in the quarter. These investments were CoStar Group, Inc., Tesla, Inc., and Vail Resorts, Inc. CoStar shares

"The two most powerful warriors are patience and time.” - Leo Tolstoy

“Great leadership is about continual change. An outstanding leader is always seeking opportunities in failure and always seeking improvement from success. Patience is key, but does not guarantee long-term prosperity.” - Iwasaki YatarŠ

In Japan, the Sengoko period (or, as translated into English, “The Age of Warring States”) ran from roughly the mid-15th century and ended with the Battle of Sekigahara in 1603. During that time, Japan was engaged in nearly constant civil wars as a series of very powerful regional leaders known as d'imyo battled

According to information released earlier this week, Jerome Dodson (Trades, Portfolio)’s Parnassus Fund (Trades, Portfolio) invested in the following new holdings during the third quarter of fiscal 2019: Guidewire Software Inc. (GWRE), Pentair PLC (PNR), Illumina Inc. (ILMN) and Autodesk Inc. (ADSK).

The Parnassus Fund’s strategy is to seek long-term capital appreciation through securities that have wide moats, relevancy over the long term, quality management teams and a market price below intrinsic value. As of the end of the quarter, the fund’s 37-stock equity portfolio has a value of $926 million.

Guidewire Software

Dodson’s

Wallace Weitz (Trades, Portfolio), founder of Weitz Investment Management, bought shares of the following stocks in both the first and second quarters of 2019.

Booking Holdings Inc. (BKNG)

The guru increased his position by 166.42% in the first quarter and by 39.93% in the second quarter. The holding has a weight of 0.27% in the equity portfolio.

The online travel agency has a market cap of $81.10 billion. Its revenue of $14.74 billion has grown an average 18.10% per annum over the last five years.

Dodge & Cox is the

As a long-time value investor, I’ve grown up with the first principle that market downturns allow you to buy more of the stocks you love the most. Who can forget Warren Buffett (Trades, Portfolio)’s classic analogy about buying steak or hamburger on sale? But like many of those things that are good for you in theory but truly wretched in practice (prune juice, 5:30 a.m. exercise routines or the dreaded tetanus shot), watching the prices of your investment partners’ assets take some dizzying drops really isn’t a lot of fun. In theory, watching iRadimed

“We try to own every one of them. Every single one. And if I had my druthers, I wouldn't own any other stocks in the year 2000. Because these are the only ones worth owning right now in this extremely difficult, extremely narrow stock market. They are the only ones that are going higher consistently in good days and bad. I love every one of them, just as I loathe the rest of the stock universe.”[1]

- Jim Cramer, February 2000

Many times you will hear talking heads discussing the “must-have” stocks to own in your portfolio. They are usually

Artificial intelligence (AI) has stormed into our lives, underpinning hit shows like Westworld and Black Mirror, while Amazon’s Alexa, Microsoft’s Cortana, and Apple’s Siri help us manage our daily routines. Although these applications of AI are interactive and immediately obvious to us, AI is also impacting our world in ways we cannot see. In fact, AI is already disrupting a wide spectrum of industries, from sports to transportation to finance. Professional sports franchises leverage the power of AI through predictive analytics that drive decisions involving drafting, training, and game strategy. IBM’s Watson harnesses machine learning to glean practical insights from

Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE:GWRE), the leading provider of technology solutions to the P&C insurance industry, is benefiting from a replacement cycle of 30-year-old legacy systems. Through innovation and targeted acquisitions, Guidewire has more than tripled its addressable market since becoming a public company. We believe the company has the potential to increase its EBITDA 10-fold over our investment horizon.

From the Baron Focused Fund first quarter 2017 shareholder letter.

Shares of P&C insurance software vendor Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE:GWRE) were up in the first quarter. Guidewire is the leading P&C core systems vendor, as evidenced by near-perfect retention rates, growing installed base, and accelerating adoption. The company is early in its core system replacement cycle, and has tripled its addressable market through new products and cloud delivery. We believe that Accenture’s new relationship with Guidewire will help to enhance pricing and win rates and shorten sales cycles. (Neal Rosenberg)

From the Baron Opportunity Fund first quarter 2017 shareholder letter.

Dear Baron Opportunity Fund Shareholder:

Performance

Baron Opportunity Fund (the “Fund”) had a strong first quarter, rising 15.09% (Institutional Shares). The Fund outperformed both the Russell 3000 Growth Index, which advanced 8.63%, and the S&P 500 Index, which rose 6.07%.

Review & Outlook

The Fund has had a strong start to 2017. Paraphrasing what I wrote in January for my last letter, the mere act of opening the new calendar seemingly provoked a backflip in market sentiment and leadership, reversing the earlier swivel triggered by the presidential election result. In a manner of speaking, we have witnessed a “reversion to