Meridian Funds, managed by ArrowMark Partners, released its first-quarter 2026 investor letter for “Meridian Small Cap Growth Fund”. A copy of the letter is available to download here. The US equities market started 2026 with volatility driven by trade policy uncertainty and heightened geopolitical risks. Initial gains were attributed to confidence in domestic companies and the Federal Reserve easing. However, sentiment deteriorated following increased tariffs and military strikes by the U.S. and Israel against Iran. During the quarter, Meridian Small Cap Growth Fund returned -8.37% compared to the Russell 2000 Growth Index’s -2.82% return. The Fund’s relative underperformance was driven by industry allocation effects, while stock selection contributed positively. Despite the market environment, the fund prioritizes high-quality businesses characterized by durable competitive advantages, robust balance sheets, and a clear outlook for sustainable earnings growth. In addition, please check the Fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2026.
In its first-quarter 2026 investor letter, Meridian Small Cap Growth Fund highlighted stocks like Amplitude, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMPL). Amplitude, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMPL) is a digital analytics platform based in San Francisco, California, that helps to analyze customer behavior across digital products. On April 20, 2026, Amplitude, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMPL) closed at $7.08 per share. One-month return of Amplitude, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMPL) was 4.89%, and its shares lost 10.83% over the past 52 weeks. Amplitude, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMPL) has a market capitalization of $946.79 million.
Meridian Small Cap Growth Fund stated the following regarding Amplitude, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMPL) in its Q1 2026 investor letter:
“Amplitude, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMPL) is a leading digital analytics platform that enables product and engineering teams to measure user engagement, identify behavioral patterns, and make data-driven decisions about product development. The company is benefiting from the proliferation of AI-native software companies that rely on analytics to inform rapid development cycles, and has demonstrated six consecutive quarters of accelerating ARR growth. Despite delivering a strong quarter with improving growth metrics and expanding enterprise adoption, shares declined sharply amid a broad selloff in software names driven by fears that AI will displace existing software platforms. We believe Amplitude is a beneficiary rather than a victim of AI trends and view the current valuation as compelling.”
Amplitude, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMPL) is not on our list of 40 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds Heading Into 2026. According to our database, 32 hedge fund portfolios held Amplitude, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMPL) at the end of the fourth quarter, up from 27 in the previous quarter. In Q4 2025, Amplitude, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMPL) reported revenue of $91.4 million, marking an increase of 17% year-over-year. While we acknowledge the risk and potential of Amplitude, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMPL) as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than Amplitude, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMPL) and that has 10,000% upside potential, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.
In another article, we covered Amplitude, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMPL) and shared the list of small-cap software names that are oversold and offer attractive upside potential for investors. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q1 2026 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.
