Conestoga Capital Advisors, an asset management company, released its “Small Cap Strategy” first-quarter 2024 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. Conestoga Small Cap Composite returned 3.69% in the first quarter compared to 7.58% for the Russell 2000 Growth Index. The market continued to rise in the first quarter as many major asset classes delivered positive returns. Lack of holdings in Super Micro Computer Inc. (SMCI) and MicroStrategy Inc. (MSTR), the largest names in the benchmark, was the major reason for the underperformance of the portfolio relative to the index. In addition, stock selection in the technology sector, especially within the software industry proved challenging. Please check the top 5 holdings of the fund for a better understanding of their best picks for 2024.
Conestoga Capital Advisors Small Cap Strategy highlighted stocks like Vericel Corporation (NASDAQ:VCEL), in the first quarter 2024 investor letter. Vericel Corporation (NASDAQ:VCEL), is a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company with a market capitalization of $2.485 billion. One-month return of Vericel Corporation (NASDAQ:VCEL) was 10.15%, and its shares gained 45.38% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On May 20, 2024, Vericel Corporation (NASDAQ:VCEL) stock closed at $51.13 per share.
Conestoga Capital Advisors Small Cap Strategy stated the following regarding Vericel Corporation (NASDAQ:VCEL) in its first quarter 2024 investor letter:
“Vericel Corporation (NASDAQ:VCEL): VCEL develops advanced cell therapies for the sports medicine and severe burn care market. VCEL’s growth engine has been MACI, an autologous chondrocyte membrane for the repair of cartilage defects, which continues to grow more than 20% and has a near-term market expansion opportunity by offering an arthroscopic option. VCEL’s burn care segment is poised for accelerating growth with the recent launch of Nexobrid, a novel product to remove eschar in burn patients. VCEL has leveraged this growth and increased their guidance for margin expansion in 2024.”
A lab worker holding a vial of biopharmaceuticals for cellular therapies.
Vericel Corporation’s (NASDAQ:VCEL) trailing 12 months revenue is $207.78 million. As stated in the latest earnings call, the first quarter revenue of Vericel Corporation (NASDAQ:VCEL) increased 25% to more than $51 million.
Vericel Corporation (NASDAQ:VCEL) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 16 hedge fund portfolios held Vericel Corporation (NASDAQ:VCEL) at the end of the fourth quarter which was 17 in the previous quarter.
Vericel Corporation (NASDAQ:VCEL) was the top contributor of Conestoga Capital Advisors in the second quarter 2023. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q1 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.
