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 Alpha Teknova, Inc. (NASDAQ:TKNO). Alpha Teknova, Inc. (NASDAQ:TKNO) produces critical reagents for the life science market for the research, discovery, development, and commercialization of novel therapies, vaccines, and molecular diagnostics. The one-month return Alpha Teknova, Inc. (NASDAQ:TKNO) was 8.72%, and its shares gained 171.29% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On February 11, 2025, Alpha Teknova, Inc. (NASDAQ:TKNO) stock closed at $8.60 per share, with a market capitalization of $458.446 million.
Conestoga Capital Advisors stated the following regarding Alpha Teknova, Inc. (NASDAQ:TKNO) in its Q4 2024 investor letter:
“Alpha Teknova, Inc. (NASDAQ:TKNO) is a leading provider of critical reagents that enable the discovery, development, and production of biopharmaceutical products such as drug therapies, novel vaccines, and molecular diagnostics. The company reported a solid quarter and called out an improving biotech funding environment and better customer order activity as reasons. Combined with improving investor sentiment, shares rallied considerably to reach 52-week highs during the quarter. As market conditions improve, we believe TKNO may be poised to capture outsized market share with the recent opening of their GMP facility.”
A Biopharma Scientist at a laboratory bench examining a sample under a microscope.
Alpha Teknova, Inc. (NASDAQ:TKNO) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 12 hedge fund portfolios held Alpha Teknova, Inc. (NASDAQ:TKNO) at the end of the third quarter which was 9 in the previous quarter. Alpha Teknova, Inc. (NASDAQ:TKNO) generated revenue of $9.6 million in the third quarter of 2024, a 17% increase from $8.2 million for the third quarter of 2023. While we acknowledge the potential of Alpha Teknova, Inc. (NASDAQ:TKNO) 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 Alpha Teknova, Inc. (NASDAQ:TKNO) and shared Conestoga Capital Advisors’ views on the company 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.