Conestoga Capital Advisors, an asset management company, released its “SMid 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. Equity markets are also driven by moderation theme. 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 strategy declined -4.82% net-of-fees in the quarter compared to -4.22% return for the Russell 2500 Growth Index. Stock selection effects in the Health Care and Consumer Discretionary sectors were the primary drivers of underperformance and were partially offset by positive contributions in the Technology and Industrials sectors. In addition, please check the fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2024.
Conestoga Capital Advisors highlighted stocks like Repligen Corporation (NASDAQ:RGEN) in the second quarter 2024 investor letter. Repligen Corporation (NASDAQ:RGEN) develops and distributes bioprocessing technologies and systems. The one-month return of Repligen Corporation (NASDAQ:RGEN) was 31.34%, and its shares gained 3.05% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On August 15, 2024, Repligen Corporation (NASDAQ:RGEN) stock closed at $162.61 per share with a market capitalization of $9.107 billion.
Conestoga Capital Advisors stated the following regarding Repligen Corporation (NASDAQ:RGEN) in its Q2 2024 investor letter:
“Repligen Corporation (NASDAQ:RGEN): RGEN is a provider of tools used by biotechnology companies. RGEN’s first quarter results were above revenue expectations but below EBITDA expectations and the company maintained its 2024 guidance. CDMOs and capital equipment remain weak spots in an otherwise slowly recovering bioprocessing market, while the acceleration of new modalities (Cell & Gene Therapy and mRNA) is a pocket of strength. Despite some near-term headwinds, RGEN’s product portfolio remains in great shape, and we expect improved growth over the next several years.”
A technician in a lab inspecting an ELISA test kit for use in biopharmaceutical diagnostics.
Repligen Corporation (NASDAQ:RGEN) is not on our list of 31 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 32 hedge fund portfolios held Repligen Corporation (NASDAQ:RGEN) at the end of the first quarter which was 31 in the previous quarter. Repligen Corporation (NASDAQ:RGEN) reported $154 million in revenues in the second quarter, a decline of 3% year-over-year. While we acknowledge the potential of Repligen Corporation (NASDAQ:RGEN) 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 Repligen Corporation (NASDAQ:RGEN) and shared Polen U.S. SMID Company Growth Strategy’s views on the company. 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.