Meridian Funds, managed by ArrowMark Partners, released its “Meridian Small Cap Growth Fund” fourth quarter 2024 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. The U.S. election results, inflation, and interest rate direction influenced markets in the quarter. This led 7.1% gain in large cap growth stocks, resulting in 33.4% annual gains. Small cap growth stocks initially surged post-election, but US Federal Reserve’s measured approach to rate cuts in 2025 and strong economic data reversed these gains. The market’s initial optimism had given way to a more cautious perspective by the end of the year. The fund returned 2.85% (net) in the fourth quarter compared to the Russell 2000 Growth Index’s 1.70% return. In addition, please check the fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2024.
In its fourth quarter 2024 investor letter, Meridian Small Cap Growth Fund emphasized stocks such as Byrna Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:BYRN). Byrna Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:BYRN) is a non-lethal self-defense technology company. The one-month return of Byrna Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:BYRN) was -43.40%, and its shares gained 67.53% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On March 10, 2025, Byrna Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:BYRN) stock closed at $19.35 per share with a market capitalization of $438.218 million.
Meridian Small Cap Growth Fund stated the following regarding Byrna Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:BYRN) in its Q4 2024 investor letter:
“Byrna Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:BYRN) is a leader in non-lethal self defense solutions for consumers and law enforcement. Its products, primarily sold through its e-commerce platform and Amazon, do not require background checks or firearm licenses. The stock extended its string of solid performance driven by effective advertising strategies that boosted revenue growth. We took advantage of the pricing strength to significantly trim our position and manage portfolio risk.”
A military personnel in gear next to a shoulder-fired launcher, representing the company’s less-lethal defense technology.
Byrna Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:BYRN) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 16 hedge fund portfolios held Byrna Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:BYRN) at the end of the fourth quarter compared to 11 in the third quarter. Byrna Technologies Inc.’s (NASDAQ:BYRN) total revenue for the fourth quarter of 2024 reached $28 million, a 79% increase from Q4 2023. While we acknowledge the potential of Byrna Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:BYRN) 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 Byrna Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:BYRN) and shared Meridian Small Cap Growth Fund’s views on the company in the previous quarter. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q4 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.