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Conestoga Capital Advisors, an asset management company, released its first-quarter 2025 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. Equity markets started the year with a rally due to optimism about a strong economy and expectations of moderating inflation and lower interest rates. However, concerns over slowing earnings from major Technology companies, geopolitical tensions, and an upcoming announcement on tariffs led to a sharp decline in equities by the end of the first quarter. Investors sought safety, driving U.S. Treasury yields down. The Conestoga Small Cap Composite returned -11.35% (net) in the first quarter compared to the Russell 2000 Growth Index’s -11.12% return. The Conestoga SMid Cap Composite returned -5.73% compared to the Russell 2500 Growth Index’s -10.80% return. The Conestoga Micro-Cap Composite returned -8.24% vs the Russell Microcap Growth Index’s return of -17.75%. Finally, the Conestoga Mid Cap Composite returned 0.96% (net), compared to the Russell Midcap Growth Index’s -7.12% return. Please check the top 5 holdings of the fund for a better understanding of their best picks for 2025.
In its first-quarter 2025 investor letter, Conestoga Capital Advisors highlighted stocks such as Repligen Corporation (NASDAQ:RGEN). Repligen Corporation (NASDAQ:RGEN) develops and distributes bioprocessing technologies and systems. The one-month return of Repligen Corporation (NASDAQ:RGEN) was 22.57%, and its shares lost 17.87% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On May 1, 2025, Repligen Corporation (NASDAQ:RGEN) stock closed at $137.20 per share with a market capitalization of $7.708 billion.
Conestoga Capital Advisors stated the following regarding Repligen Corporation (NASDAQ:RGEN) in its Q1 2025 investor letter:
"Repligen Corporation (NASDAQ:RGEN) is a provider of tools used by biotechnology companies. RGEN reported in-line Q4 2024 results and 2025 guidance. The stock rose on the earnings release but fell later in the quarter on rising uncertainty related to U.S. Federal Government spending on healthcare initiatives. Companies with exposure to the bio-processing industry remained under pressure during the first quarter of 2025. We maintain our high conviction in RGEN as we believe there are indications of improving fundamentals for the business."
A technician in a lab inspecting an ELISA test kit for use in biopharmaceutical diagnostics.
Repligen Corporation (NASDAQ:RGEN) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 34 hedge fund portfolios held Repligen Corporation (NASDAQ:RGEN) at the end of the fourth quarter, compared to 34 in the third quarter. While we acknowledge the potential of Repligen Corporation (NASDAQ:RGEN) 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.