Overview
- Conestoga Capital Advisors, which released its first-quarter letter Tuesday, reported its Small Cap Composite fell 5.01% versus a 2.81% decline for the Russell 2000 Growth index.
- The firm cited Middle East unrest and changing interest-rate expectations for higher energy prices and sharper swings in markets.
- Management said losses from individual stock picks drove the gap as Technology and Health Care weakness outweighed any help from sector positioning.
- ESCO Technologies was a leading contributor after a demand inflection, with entered orders up 143% and a larger backlog that improved visibility.
- Repligen grew about 14% organically but guided to more moderate 2026 growth, and Stevanato’s roughly 5% revenue increase plus Engineering segment softness kept investors cautious.