Conestoga Capital Advisors, an asset management company, released its third-quarter 2024 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. At its September meeting, the Federal Reserve lowered the Federal Funds rate by 50 basis points due to weaker employment growth and moderate inflation. Equity markets welcomed the news, raising optimism for a soft landing in the U.S. economy. On September 26th, the S&P 500 Index achieved a record high, the Russell 2000 Index also moved higher over the quarter but remains roughly 10% below its all-time high. The Conestoga Small Cap Composite surged 10.09% (net) in the third quarter outperforming the Russell 2000 Growth Index’s 8.41% return. The Conestoga SMid Cap Composite returned 12.94% (net) versus the Russell 2500 Growth Index’s 6.99% return. The Conestoga Micro Cap Composite advanced 7.60% (net) but trailed the Russell Microcap Growth Index’s return of 8.57%. Finally, the Conestoga Mid Cap Composite returned 8.36% (net) outperforming the Russell Midcap Growth Index’s 6.54%. Please check the top 5 holdings of the fund for a better understanding of their best picks for 2024.
Conestoga Capital Advisors highlighted stocks like Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO), in the third quarter 2024 investor letter. Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO) is a science and engineering consulting company. The one-month return of Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO) was -2.42%, and its shares gained 31.09% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On October 21, 2024, Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO) stock closed at $110.05 per share with a market capitalization of $5.583 billion.
Conestoga Capital Advisors stated the following regarding Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO) in its Q3 2024 investor letter:
“Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO) is a scientific and engineering consulting firm that specializes in highly technical analysis across more than 90 scientific disciplines. This was EXPO’s second consecutive quarter as a leader as they reported second quarter results with EBITDA and earnings per share above consensus estimates. EXPO’s PhD’s specialize in numerous secular growth markets that are driving growth, namely wearables technologies, battery manufacturing, advanced driver capabilities, and AI.”
A chemical engineer studying a lab sample of a food product for safety regulations.
Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO) is not on our list of 31 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 23 hedge fund portfolios held Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO) at the end of the second quarter which was 21 in the previous quarter. In Q2 2024, Exponent, Inc.’s (NASDAQ:EXPO) total revenues were roughly $140.5 million, which remained flat compared to Q2 2023. The company’s net income increased to $29.2 million, or $0.57 per diluted share in the second quarter, from $25.7 million, or $0.50 per diluted share, in Q2 2023. While we acknowledge the potential of Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO) 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 Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO) and shared TimesSquare Capital Management’s views on the company in the previous quarter. Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO) contributed to the performance of Conestoga Capital Advisors in the previous quarter. 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.