Conestoga Capital Advisors, an asset management company, released its fourth-quarter 2024 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. For the second consecutive year, U.S. equity indices ended the year with double-digit returns after generating modest returns in the fourth quarter of 2024. Conestoga’s investment plans were hindered by the enthusiasm for everything artificial intelligence (AI) related, which the firm believes led to a more speculative investing climate. The Conestoga Small Cap Composite surged 1.67% (net) in the fourth quarter compared to the Russell 2000 Growth Index’s 1.70% return. The Conestoga SMid Cap Composite returned -0.68% (net) trailing the Russell 2500 Growth Index’s 2.43% return. The Conestoga Micro Cap Composite advanced 9.91% (net) vs the Russell Microcap Growth Index’s return of 11.55%. Finally, the Conestoga Mid Cap Composite returned -4.63% (net) underperforming the Russell Midcap Growth Index’s 8.14% return. Please check the top 5 holdings of the fund for a better understanding of their best picks for 2024.
In its fourth quarter 2024 investor letter, Conestoga Capital Advisors emphasized stocks such as Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT). Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT) is an online auction and vehicle remarketing services providing company. The one-month return of Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT) was 5.02%, and its shares gained 20.34% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On February 11, 2025, Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT) stock closed at $59.23 per share, with a market capitalization of $57.07 billion.
Conestoga Capital Advisors stated the following regarding Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT) in its Q4 2024 investor letter:
“Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT) is a leading provider of salvage auctions in the U.S., Canada and the UK. The company reported quarterly results that included healthy volume growth, aided by a higher total loss rate, which offset higher investment spending. We believe CPRT has an improved competitive position and expect they will have stronger earnings power on the other side of this investment period.”
A busy car auction being held at a leading car dealership, buyers and sellers engaging in active bidding.
Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 48 hedge fund portfolios held Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT) at the end of the third quarter which was 50 in the previous quarter. While we acknowledge the potential of Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT) 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 Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT) and shared Madison Mid Cap Fund’s views on the company. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q3 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.