Conestoga Capital Advisors, an asset management company, released its “Mid Cap Strategy” fourth-quarter 2023 investor letter. A copy of the same can be downloaded here. The Mid Cap Composite rose 11.00% net of fees in the fourth quarter, compared to a 14.55% return for the Russell Midcap Growth Index. Negative impacts from stock selection were outweighed by positive sector allocation effects. The Mid Cap Composite climbed 22.83% for the year vs. the benchmark’s rise of 25.87%. Four sectors accounted for the majority of the relative performance; the largest laggards were the industrial and technology sectors, while health care and energy were additive to returns. In addition, please check the fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2023.

Conestoga Capital Advisors Mid Cap Strategy featured stocks such as Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN) in the fourth quarter 2023 investor letter. Headquartered in Tempe, Arizona, Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN) designs and manufactures orthodontics, restorative, and aesthetic dentistry products. On February 21, 2024, Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN) stock closed at $304.65 per share. One-month return of Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN) was 16.23%, and its shares lost 0.27% of their value over the last 52 weeks. Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN) has a market capitalization of $23.333 billion.

Conestoga Capital Advisors Mid Cap Strategy stated the following regarding Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN) in its fourth quarter 2023 investor letter:

“Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN): ALGN, the manufacturer of Invisalign clear aligners, saw its shares decline sharply in reaction to a 3Q revenue miss and a reduction in 4Q guidance. The company experienced significantly softer sales in September in the US and EMEA and saw these trends continue into October. We believe the primary driver of the disappointing results is weaker consumer confidence/ demand, not competitive issues. The company managed margins well and announced new cost actions to help support margins and EPS despite the weaker demand environment.”

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Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. At the end of the fourth quarter, Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN) was held by 50 hedge fund portfolios, up from 43 in the previous quarter, according to our database.

We discussed Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN) in another article and shared the list of most valuable medical device companies in the US. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q4 2023 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.