Published on 19 Feb 2024 on Insider Monkey via Yahoo Finance

Mesa Laboratories (MLAB) Impacted by Slowdown in Pharmaceutical And Biotech Spending

Conestoga Capital Advisors, an asset management company, released its “Micro Cap Strategy” fourth-quarter 2023 investor letter. A copy of the same can be downloaded here. Despite growing by 12.70% net of fees in the fourth quarter, the strategy was unable to match the 15.64% return of the Russell Micro Cap Growth Index. Underperformance was mostly caused by poor stock selection in the Health Care and Industrials. Micro Cap Composite declined -1.02% net-of-fees, trailing the Russell Micro Cap Growth Index’s gain of 9.11% for 2023. Positive effects on sector allocation and stock selection in the technology and basic materials sectors did help the portfolio. The majority of the underperformance was mostly centered in the consumer discretionary, health care, and industrial sectors, where choosing stocks proved to be difficult. In addition, please check the fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2023.

Conestoga Capital Advisors Micro Cap Strategy featured stocks such as Mesa Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:MLAB) in the fourth quarter 2023 investor letter. Headquartered in Lakewood, Colorado, Mesa Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:MLAB) is a manufacturer and distributor of life sciences tools and quality control products and services. On February 16, 2024, Mesa Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:MLAB) stock closed at $102.71 per share. One-month return of Mesa Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:MLAB) was 12.60%, and its shares lost 42.36% of their value over the last 52 weeks. Mesa Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:MLAB) has a market capitalization of $554.023 million.

Conestoga Capital Advisors Micro Cap Strategy stated the following regarding Mesa Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:MLAB) in its fourth quarter 2023 investor letter: