Bellevue Digital Health

Global stocks (MSCI World Net Index; +1.3%) advanced in July, as did US tech stocks (NASDAQ-100 Index +2.4%). The broader healthcare sector (MSCI World Health Care Net Index –3.0%) lagged the market, mainly because of the drastic decline in US health insurer stocks (S&P Managed Health Care Sub Industry Index –22.9%) and political uncertainty (US tariffs and the potential most-favored-nation pricing model for drugs) caused by the Trump administration, which weighed on drug makers. Negative investor sentiment toward the healthcare sector and the resulting cash outflows impacted the equity performance of SMID-cap stocks the most, which is also reflected in the performance of the Bellevue Digital Health (Lux) Fund (–8.3%). Investors whose reference currency is not the US dollar benefited from the stronger greenback (US Dollar Index +3.2%).

Nine of the 34 stocks in the fund’s portfolio made a positive contribution to performance in July. The past month marked the start of the Q2 reporting season. Penumbra (–1.7%) and Stryker (–0.7%) beat consensus expectations, while Veeva Systems’ shares (–1.3%) held up well in anticipation of solid quarterly results. In the life science tools space, 10x Genomics (+16.1%) and Illumina (+7.7%) traded higher after Thermo Fisher Scientific released a strong set of results for Q2 2025, which lifted the share prices of other life science players. Companies that were recently listed on the stock exchange also performed well: Beta Bionics (+15.3%) reported strong quarterly results that clearly beat expectations, Kestra Medical Technologies’ (–0.5%) results were in line with expectations, and Caris Life Sciences (+5.1%) published positive clinical data. Chinese stocks in the portfolio, Ping An Healthcare and Technology (+40.0%) and JD Health International (+17.0%), advanced on the recent strength of emerging markets in general.??

Portfolio performance was held back by companies such as Intuitive Surgical (–11.5%) and Dexcom (–7.5%) that actually released good results for Q2 but didn’t beat high earnings expectations. Performance detractors also included Align Technology (–31.9%; disappointing quarterly results) and Procept BioRobotics (–15.8%; surprising change of CEO). Intuitive Surgical beat Q2 expectations, but its outlook for surgical procedure growth fell short of investors’ high expectations. Dexcom also beat Q2 expectations, but its reported growth in the US was not as strong as Abbott’s, a major competitor. Align Technology failed to meet growth expectations and revised its full-year guidance significantly lower – after just having published new full-year and long-term targets in the previous month. Procept BioRobotics announced a change of CEO within the scope of its succession planning. Larry Wood, named as the new CEO, previously served as corporate vice president and group president, Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement and Surgical Structural Heart, at Edwards Lifesciences and has sat on the Board of Directors of Procept BioRobotics since 2024. The company also preannounced its sales figures, but didn’t give any information about its earnings, which unsettled investors. Natera (–20.9%) and TransMedics (–11.2%) were hit by profit-taking, after the latter had made very strong gains in H1 2025 (+85.5% from the end of 2024 to the end of June 2025).?

All performance figures are in US dollars/B shares.

Looking at the fundamentals, digital health companies are on a stable, above-average growth trajectory, which is expected to be sustained throughout 2025. This scenario is supported by above-average growth in surgical procedure volumes and in hospital capital expenditure.??

The approval and subsequent launch of relevant new products will continue to bolster sales growth, too. Examples here include: the new da Vinci 5 robotic surgical system from Intuitive Surgical; Veeva Systems’ Vault CRM Suite for highly efficient marketing of medicines; Dexcom’s two continuous blood glucose sensors, Stelo and G7; Procept BioRobotics’ Hydros Robotic System for the removal of affected tissue in men with prostate cancer; Insulet’s Omnipod 5 automated insulin delivery system; Penumbra’s computer-assisted vacuum thrombectomy system, Thunderbolt; and Globus Medical’s ExcelsiusFlex, a surgical robotic navigation system.??

We expect some tailwinds for our investment vehicle during H2 2025. In addition to innovation being the key driver of value, other factors such as attractive valuation levels (price/sales multiples are near historical lows) and an anticipated increase in both M&A and IPO activity are sound arguments for investing in the Bellevue Digital Health (Lux) Fund.