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 Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE:GWRE) in its Q2 2024 investor letter. Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE:GWRE) offers a platform for property and casualty (P&C) insurers. The one-month return of Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE:GWRE) was 4.08%, and its shares gained 86.19% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On August 15, 2024, Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE:GWRE) stock closed at $147.33 per share with a market capitalization of $12.179 billion.
Conestoga Capital Advisors stated the following regarding Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE:GWRE) in its Q2 2024 investor letter:
“Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE:GWRE): This company is considered a best-in-class provider of core software solutions for property and casualty insurers. The company reported a very strong first quarter report including an acceleration in subscription software growth to 35% and better than expected profits. The stock traded up nearly 20% as its report deviated from many enterprise software companies that reported weaker first quarter results.”
An insurance adjuster reviewing images and paperwork to process a claim.
Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE:GWRE) is not on our list of 31 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 34 hedge fund portfolios held Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE:GWRE) at the end of the first quarter which was 33 in the previous quarter. Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE:GWRE) reported $241 million in revenues, in the fiscal third quarter of 2024 and posted better-than-expected revenue growth in all areas. While we acknowledge the potential of Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE:GWRE) 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 Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE:GWRE) and shared Baron Small Cap Fund’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.
