Meridian Funds, managed by ArrowMark Partners, released its “Meridian Small Cap Growth Fund” first quarter 2024 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. The market rally continued in the first quarter of 2024, supported by positive inflation data and robust economic signs. The fund returned 6.04% (net) in the first quarter compared to the Russell 2000 Growth Index’s 7.58% return. In addition, please check the fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2024.
Meridian Small Cap Growth Fund highlighted stocks like Byrna Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:BYRN), in the first quarter 2024 investor letter. Byrna Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:BYRN) is a non-lethal defense technology company. The one-month return of Byrna Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:BYRN) was -5.37%, and its shares gained 130.28% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On June 18, 2024, Byrna Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:BYRN) stock closed at $10.57 per share with a market capitalization of $240.325 million.
Meridian Small Cap Growth Fund stated the following regarding Byrna Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:BYRN) in its first quarter 2024 investor letter:
“Byrna Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:BYRN) is a leading at-home self-defense company that designs, manufactures, and sells non-lethal alternative defense solutions for consumers and law enforcement. Primarily sold through Byrna’s e-commerce store and Amazon storefront, Byrna’s non-lethal handheld and shoulder-fired personal security devices do not require a background check or firearm license. We believe the company’s innovative solutions have an expansive opportunity for growth. During 2023, the stock experienced a significant pullback when restrictions imposed on its online advertising cut nearly half of its website traffic overnight, impacting sales. However, the company’s recent pivot to an alternative advertising strategy appears to have successfully restored revenue momentum and the stock responded positively in the quarter. During the period, we trimmed our position in the company as the share price appreciated based on our risk-management discipline.”
A military personnel in gear next to a shoulder-fired launcher, representing the company’s less-lethal defense technology.
Byrna Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:BYRN) is not on our list of 31 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 9 hedge fund portfolios held Byrna Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:BYRN) at the end of the first quarter which was 2 in the previous quarter. The first quarter net revenue of Byrna Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:BYRN) was $16.7 million, an increase of 98% from Q1 2023. While we acknowledge the potential of Byrna Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:BYRN) 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 addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q1 2024 page for more investor letters from hedge funds and other leading investors.
READ NEXT: Michael Burry Is Selling These Stocks and A New Dawn Is Coming to US Stocks.
Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
