TimesSquare Capital Management, an equity investment management company, released its “U.S. Small Cap Growth Strategy” second-quarter 2024 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. In the quarter the fund returned -1.59% (gross) and -1.83% (net), compared to a -2.92% return for the Russell 2000 Growth Index. The equity markets performed well in the second quarter, as long as one held only a handful of the biggest, fastest-growing U.S. stocks. Despite profitability turning positive this quarter following negative or neutral results in previous quarters, momentum remained the most important component in the worldwide market. In addition, please check the fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2024.
TimesSquare Capital Management U.S. Small Cap Growth Strategy highlighted stocks like European Wax Center, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWCZ), in the second quarter 2024 investor letter. European Wax Center, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWCZ) is a US-based franchisor and operator of out-of-home waxing services provider. The one-month return of European Wax Center, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWCZ) was 13.12%, and its shares lost 57.48% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On September 17, 2024, European Wax Center, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWCZ) stock closed at $7.33 per share with a market capitalization of $439.652 million.
TimesSquare Capital Management U.S. Small Cap Growth Strategy stated the following regarding European Wax Center, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWCZ) in its Q2 2024 investor letter:
Our preferences in the Consumer-oriented sectors lean toward value-oriented or specialty retailers, franchise models, or premium brands. European Wax Center, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWCZ) is a franchisor and operator of personal waxing centers. Results from the first quarter were mixed with same store sales comparisons below estimates and profits above. Softer comps were due to adverse weather conditions as well as slower traffic from non-Wax Pass (club) customers. That caused its shares to slide by -24%.
A close-up of a brow being waxed in one of the company’s franchises.
European Wax Center, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWCZ) is not on our list of 31 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 19 hedge fund portfolios held European Wax Center, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWCZ) at the end of the second quarter which was 14 in the previous quarter. Same-store sales of European Wax Center, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWCZ) grew by 1.6% in the second quarter, and total revenue, including the company’s sales of wax and retail products to its network, reached $59.9 million, a 1.3% increase. While we acknowledge the potential of European Wax Center, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWCZ) 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 addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q2 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.