Wasatch Global Investors, an asset management company, released its “Wasatch Micro-Cap Growth-U.S. Strategy” third-quarter 2024 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. In the quarter, U.S.-based micro-cap companies benefited from optimism surrounding decreasing interest rates and a smooth economic transition, which led to greater investor appetite for risk. The strategy appreciated and outperformed the benchmark Russell Microcap® Growth Index in the quarter, which returned 8.57%. 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 Janus International Group, Inc. (NYSE:JBI) in the third quarter 2024 investor letter. Janus International Group, Inc. (NYSE:JBI) is a manufacturer and supplier of turn-key self-storage, and commercial and industrial building solutions. The one-month return of Janus International Group, Inc. (NYSE:JBI) was 0.54%, and its shares lost 46.06% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On January 2, 2025, Janus International Group, Inc. (NYSE:JBI) stock closed at $7.39 per share with a market capitalization of $1.043 billion.
Wasatch Micro-Cap Growth-U.S. Strategy stated the following regarding Janus International Group, Inc. (NYSE:JBI) in its Q3 2024 investor letter:
“Another detractor was Janus International Group, Inc. (NYSE:JBI). The company is the dominant supplier of solutions and components for the self-storage industry. During the quarter, the price of steel, a key input used by Janus International to make components like steel doors and framing, declined. The company’s share price suffered when it became clear it would not be able to hold on to cost savings from lower steel prices but would instead need to pass those savings on to clients, which include some of the largest self-storage companies in the U.S. This put pressure on the company’s revenues and margins during the period. In addition, the company has struggled with an increase in delayed orders, as many of its clients are now waiting for interest rates to fall further before starting new projects. However, we continue to believe in the company’s long-term growth prospects and will keep a close eye on the nature of the slow-down in orders.”
A factory worker operating a roll-up door manufacturing machine.
Janus International Group, Inc. (NYSE:JBI) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 22 hedge fund portfolios held Janus International Group, Inc. (NYSE:JBI) at the end of the third quarter which was 31 in the previous quarter. Janus International Group, Inc. (NYSE:JBI) reported consolidated revenue of $230.1 million in the third quarter, which was 17.9% lower as compared to the prior year quarter. While we acknowledge the potential of Janus International Group, Inc. (NYSE:JBI) 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 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.