Wasatch Global Investors, an asset management company, released its “Wasatch Micro-Cap Growth-U.S. Strategy” second-quarter 2024 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. Micro-cap stocks saw a decline in the second quarter of this year following a robust start to the year due to a difficult macro environment and a narrowly focused market. Against this backdrop, the strategy fell but outperformed the Russell Microcap Growth Index benchmark, which fell -5.57%. In addition, please check the fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2024.
Wasatch Micro-Cap Growth-U.S. Strategy highlighted stocks like XPEL, Inc. (NASDAQ:XPEL), in the second quarter 2024 investor letter. XPEL, Inc. (NASDAQ:XPEL) distributes and installs protective films and coatings. The one-month return of XPEL, Inc. (NASDAQ:XPEL) was -4.09%, and its shares lost 44.00% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On September 11, 2024, XPEL, Inc. (NASDAQ:XPEL) stock closed at $42.63 per share with a market capitalization of $1.178 billion.
Wasatch Micro-Cap Growth-U.S. Strategy stated the following regarding XPEL, Inc. (NASDAQ:XPEL) in its Q2 2024 investor letter:
“XPEL, Inc. (NASDAQ:XPEL) also detracted from strategy performance. The company manufactures and sells automotive products, including window tints, headlight protection and cut-to-fit protective films for painted surfaces. XPEL’s proprietary software helps installers with job scheduling, measurement and pattern selection. For the most recently reported quarter, the company’s revenues and earnings fell short of analysts’ estimates partly due to weakness in China. Moreover, XPEL lowered its organic growth expectations for the full year. With the stock now trading at a lower valuation and our long-term view of the company still positive, we’re maintaining our position in XPEL.”
An experienced mechanic installing a headlight protection kit on a car in a garage.
XPEL, Inc. (NASDAQ:XPEL) is not on our list of 31 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 13 hedge fund portfolios held XPEL, Inc. (NASDAQ:XPEL) at the end of the second quarter which was 18 in the previous quarter. While we acknowledge the potential of XPEL, Inc. (NASDAQ:XPEL) 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 XPEL, Inc. (NASDAQ:XPEL) and shared Polen U.S. Small 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.
