Conestoga Capital Advisors, an asset management company, released its “Micro Cap Strategy” fourth-quarter 2023 investor letter. A copy of the same can be downloaded here. Despite growing by 12.70% net of fees in the fourth quarter, the strategy was unable to match the 15.64% return of the Russell Micro Cap Growth Index. Underperformance was mostly caused by poor stock selection in the Health Care and Industrials. Micro Cap Composite declined -1.02% net-of-fees, trailing the Russell Micro Cap Growth Index’s gain of 9.11% for 2023. Positive effects on sector allocation and stock selection in the technology and basic materials sectors did help the portfolio. The majority of the underperformance was mostly centered in the consumer discretionary, health care, and industrial sectors, where choosing stocks proved to be difficult. In addition, please check the fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2023.
Conestoga Capital Advisors Micro Cap Strategy featured stocks such as Mesa Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:MLAB) in the fourth quarter 2023 investor letter. Headquartered in Lakewood, Colorado, Mesa Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:MLAB) is a manufacturer and distributor of life sciences tools and quality control products and services. On February 16, 2024, Mesa Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:MLAB) stock closed at $102.71 per share. One-month return of Mesa Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:MLAB) was 12.60%, and its shares lost 42.36% of their value over the last 52 weeks. Mesa Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:MLAB) has a market capitalization of $554.023 million.
Conestoga Capital Advisors Micro Cap Strategy stated the following regarding Mesa Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:MLAB) in its fourth quarter 2023 investor letter:
“Mesa Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:MLAB): This company is a manufacturer of life science tools and quality control products. MLAB’s four divisions have been adversely impacted by a slowdown in pharmaceutical and biotech spending. The company’s reported fiscal year 2Q24 revenues were slightly below consensus estimates. While the company’s quarterly results showed sequential improvement, the company has not achieved the mid- single organic growth rate that we expected. In mid-October, the company announced an acquisition of GKE-GmbH, a sterilization indicator and accredited testing business for approximately $85 million. The acquisition is a nice fit, but we need to see improved organic revenue growth and significant profitability improvement in 2024 and 2025.”
A scientist conducting a test in a lab, with a background of complex equipment.
Mesa Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:MLAB) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. At the end of the fourth quarter, Mesa Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:MLAB) was held by 14 hedge fund portfolios, up from 12 in the previous quarter, according to our database.
We discussed Mesa Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:MLAB) in another article and shared the list of worst performing growth stocks in 2023. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q4 2023 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.
