Conestoga Capital Advisors, an asset management company, released its “Micro-Cap Strategy” second-quarter 2024 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. The second quarter of 2024 may be regarded as a time of moderation. Economic indicators largely reflected slowing growth and easing inflation. The moderation theme also drives equity markets. Large-cap stocks, as measured by the S&P 500, rose 3.9% in the second quarter, however, small-cap stocks lagged again, with the Russell 2000 Index declining -3.3% and the Russell 2000 Growth Index declining -2.9%. The Micro Cap Strategy declined -8.52% net-of-fees in the quarter compared to a -5.57% return for the Russell Microcap Growth Index. Underperformance was mostly caused by negative stock selection effects in the Telecommunications and industrial sectors, with Health Care being the most addictive. Sector allocation effects influenced relative returns. Also, low-beta companies with cheap multiples, the quarter’s biggest winners, were a drag on the portfolio. In addition, please check the fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2024.
Conestoga Capital Advisors highlighted stocks like Mesa Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:MLAB) in the second quarter 2024 investor letter. Mesa Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:MLAB) develops, designs, manufactures, sells, and services life sciences tools and quality control products and services. The one-month return of Mesa Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:MLAB) was 19.24%, and its shares lost 6.69% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On August 15, 2024, Mesa Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:MLAB) stock closed at $128.92 per share with a market capitalization of $697.349 million.
Conestoga Capital Advisors stated the following regarding Mesa Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:MLAB) in its Q2 2024 investor letter:
“Mesa Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:MLAB): MLAB is a multinational manufacturer, developer, and seller of quality control products and services, many of which are sold into niche, regulated markets. MLAB has had inconsistent performance with newly acquired businesses and, at the same time, struggled to accelerate growth in legacy products in a consistent manner. We believe that we could better allocate the investment into our new investment ideas within the Micro Cap Growth strategy.”
A scientist conducting a test in a lab, with a background of complex equipment.
Mesa Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:MLAB) is not on our list of 31 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 13 hedge fund portfolios held Mesa Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:MLAB) at the end of the first quarter which was 14 in the previous quarter. While we acknowledge the potential of Mesa Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:MLAB) 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 another article, we discussed Mesa Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:MLAB) and shared Andvari Associates’ views on the company. Conestoga Capital Advisors stated in the Q4 2023 investor letter that Mesa Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:MLAB) dropped during the quarter as a result of a slowdown in pharma and biotech spending. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q2 2024 page for more investor letters from hedge funds and other leading investors.
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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
