Baillie Gifford US Growth Trust devoted much of its semi-annual report to talking about the perspectives of Modern biotechnology and the SpaceX rocket launcher, two of its investments that helped to raise its net asset value during the period.
The USA fund,
a component of the FTSE 250 MCX,
reported that its six months to 30 November the net asset value rose 54%, bringing its total assets to £ 810.3 million, excluding the loans it made.
The fund said that 2021 was looking like “the light at the end of the tunnel” as it highlighted its investment in Moderna, which it has held since the initial public offering of 2018. MRNA da Moderna,
The COVID-19 vaccine is its first commercial product.
“Success with one drug says nothing about the likelihood of success with the next. But we may be entering a new era for drug development. One of the true platforms, where success generates success. A group of biotechnology companies is emerging that are based on basic technologies that can be reusable in various diseases and disease categories. We think Moderna could be one of those companies, ”said the Moderna fund, which makes medicines based on mRNA, the intermediate molecule between DNA and proteins. “We are moving from a world of developing spaghetti medicines to something more like industrial manufacturing.”
The fund has 12% invested in unlisted companies like SpaceX, the rocket and spacecraft manufacturer founded by Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk. “SpaceX has been innovating at a breathtaking pace. 2020 was the year that America sent astronauts to the space station again. SpaceX’s manned mission was the first for a private company. Starlink, SpaceX’s satellite-based high-speed broadband service is up and running in beta, with more than 900 satellites orbiting the Earth providing Internet to users. And in Texas, SpaceX has rapidly developed its Starship rocket, the vehicle it hopes will take people back to the moon and then to Mars, ”said the fund.
He also had good words for Tesla TSLA,
Musk’s publicly traded electric car company and the fund’s primary stake, accounting for 9.5% of the fund. “In its recent battery day, Tesla has charted a path to further reduce battery costs in half. The way we produce, store and consume energy is changing rapidly. For the best. The end of carbon is approaching, ”said the fund.
The broadest FTSE 100 UKX,
it was a smaller fraction, with limited trade, since US stock exchanges are closed for the holiday of Martin Luther King Jr.
Animal genetics group Genus GNS,
rose, after saying that its performance in the second fiscal semester ended on June 30 will be above previous expectations. Its swine genetics unit in China and bovine genetics units in Brazil, Russia, India and China have seen strong growth, the company said.