Conestoga Capital Advisors, an asset management company, released its third-quarter 2024 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. At its September meeting, the Federal Reserve lowered the Federal Funds rate by 50 basis points due to weaker employment growth and moderate inflation. Equity markets welcomed the news, raising optimism for a soft landing in the U.S. economy. On September 26th, the S&P 500 Index achieved a record high, the Russell 2000 Index also moved higher over the quarter but remains roughly 10% below its all-time high. The Conestoga Small Cap Composite surged 10.09% (net) in the third quarter outperforming the Russell 2000 Growth Index’s 8.41% return. The Conestoga SMid Cap Composite returned 12.94% (net) versus the Russell 2500 Growth Index’s 6.99% return. The Conestoga Micro Cap Composite advanced 7.60% (net) but trailed the Russell Microcap Growth Index’s return of 8.57%. Finally, the Conestoga Mid Cap Composite returned 8.36% (net) outperforming the Russell Midcap Growth Index’s 6.54%. Please check the top 5 holdings of the fund for a better understanding of their best picks for 2024.
Conestoga Capital Advisors highlighted stocks like The Vita Coco Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:COCO) in its Q2 2024 investor letter. The Vita Coco Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:COCO) develops, markets, and distributes coconut water products under the Vita Coco brand name. The one-month return of The Vita Coco Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:COCO) was 0.68%, and its shares gained 13.87% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On October 21, 2024, The Vita Coco Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:COCO) stock closed at $29.88 per share with a market capitalization of $1.689 billion.
Conestoga Capital Advisors stated the following regarding The Vita Coco Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:COCO) in its Q3 2024 investor letter:
“The Vita Coco Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:COCO) is a market leader in the coconut water beverage category. The company pioneered the category and now has sales of over $500M – 87% in the US and 13% internationally. They sell branded products, which represent 74% of revenue, and private label which is 26% of revenue. COCO brands are one of the fastest growing categories in beverages and should benefit from its strong competitive advantages, high market share, and solid growth expectations.”
A close-up of a hand pouring a refreshing glass of coconut water.
The Vita Coco Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:COCO) is not on our list of 31 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 14 hedge fund portfolios held The Vita Coco Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:COCO) at the end of the second quarter which was 23 in the previous quarter. In the second quarter, The Vita Coco Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:COCO) achieved net sales growth of 3%. While we acknowledge the potential of The Vita Coco Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:COCO) 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 The Vita Coco Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:COCO) and shared Artisan Small Cap Fund’s views on the company in the previous quarter. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q3 2024 page for more investor letters from hedge funds and other leading investors.
READ NEXT: Michael Burry Is Selling These Stocks and A New Dawn Is Coming to US Stocks.
Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.