Wasatch Global Investors, an asset management company, released its “Wasatch Small Cap Growth Strategy” first-quarter 2024 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. During the first quarter, the strategy gained but underperformed the benchmark, the Russell 2000 Growth Index which rose 7.58%. The broader Russell 2000 Index increased 5.18% during the same period. Holdings in health care and consumer staples—and lack of exposure in materials, utilities, and communication services- contributed to the relative performance of the strategy, while holdings in information technology, consumer discretionary, and industrials detracted. In addition, you can check the top 5 holdings of the fund to know its best picks in 2024.
Wasatch Small Cap Growth Strategy highlighted stocks like Medpace Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:MEDP), in the first quarter 2024 investor letter. Medpace Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:MEDP) is a clinical research-based drug and medical device development services provider. The one-month return of Medpace Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:MEDP) was -0.34%, and its shares gained 81.36% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On June 11, 2024, Medpace Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:MEDP) stock closed at $397.17 per share with a market capitalization of $12.306 billion.
Wasatch Small Cap Growth Strategy stated the following regarding Medpace Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:MEDP) in its first quarter 2024 investor letter:
“The top contributor to strategy performance during the first quarter was Medpace Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:MEDP). The company is a contract research organization (CRO) supplying clinical development services to small biotechnology businesses. Medpace continues to post strong revenue and earnings growth as it provides critical services for its customers. The stock also benefited in the quarter from optimism that lower rates will help biotech companies more easily secure much-needed funding for future clinical development. Although Medpace isn’t a traditional biotech company, we believe it gives us some exposure to the industry without the typically poor cash flows of biotech businesses. Moreover, Medpace has continued to defy the skeptics by generally maintaining strong growth (often in double digits) and healthy fundamentals for years on end—even during several periods when biotech businesses have struggled.”
A medical professional in a lab coat discussing with a colleague.
Medpace Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:MEDP) is not on our list of 31 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 40 hedge fund portfolios held Medpace Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:MEDP) at the end of the first quarter which was 38 in the previous quarter. The first quarter revenue of Medpace Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:MEDP) was $511 million, up 17.7% year-over-year. While we acknowledge the potential of Medpace Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:MEDP) 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.
Vulcan Value Partners, another investment management company, also has Medpace Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:MEDP) in its portfolio and benefited from its recent rise. 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.