Conestoga Capital Advisors, an asset management company, released its fourth-quarter 2024 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. For the second consecutive year, U.S. equity indices ended the year with double-digit returns after generating modest returns in the fourth quarter of 2024. Conestoga’s investment plans were hindered by the enthusiasm for everything artificial intelligence (AI) related, which the firm believes led to a more speculative investing climate. The Conestoga Small Cap Composite surged 1.67% (net) in the fourth quarter compared to the Russell 2000 Growth Index’s 1.70% return. The Conestoga SMid Cap Composite returned -0.68% (net) trailing the Russell 2500 Growth Index’s 2.43% return. The Conestoga Micro Cap Composite advanced 9.91% (net) vs the Russell Microcap Growth Index’s return of 11.55%. Finally, the Conestoga Mid Cap Composite returned -4.63% (net) underperforming the Russell Midcap Growth Index’s 8.14% return. Please check the top 5 holdings of the fund for a better understanding of their best picks for 2024.
In its fourth quarter 2024 investor letter, Conestoga Capital Advisors emphasized stocks such as West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST). West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) designs, manufactures and sells containment and delivery systems for injectable drugs and healthcare products. The one-month return West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) was -2.01%, and its shares lost 21.02% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On February 11, 2025, West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) stock closed at $322.40 per share, with a market capitalization of $23.349 billion.
Conestoga Capital Advisors stated the following regarding West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) in its Q4 2024 investor letter:
“West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST), a market leader in containment and delivery solutions for the pharmaceutical industry, bounced back in the fourth quarter. The market appears more optimistic that the inventory destocking of 2024 is nearing its end, and we believe the company should be able to return to its organic growth profile of 5-8%. WST is a beneficiary of the GLP-1 product ramp across numerous pharmaceutical clients, which we expect should maintain its momentum into 2025 and beyond.”
A closeup of multiple drug containment systems in an array of colors.
West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 31 hedge fund portfolios held West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) at the end of the third quarter which was 37 in the previous quarter. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc.’s (NYSE:WST) third quarter net sales were $746.9 million, representing an organic sales decline of 0.5%. While we acknowledge the potential of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) 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 West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) and shared ClearBridge Mid Cap Growth Strategy’s views on the company. 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.