Michigan-based investment advisor Cedar Grove Capital Management recently released its first quarter 2026 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. Cedar Grove Capital Management’s Multi-Strategy Composite posted a -23.0% net return since inception, compared to -5.6% for the Russell 2000, -5.9% for the Russell Microcap, and -5.5% for the S&P 500. Timing is key for early fund success, yet predicting external shocks during volatile macroeconomic periods is impossible. Rather than speculate on macro risks, it’s advisable to invest in strong companies at reasonable prices with good growth prospects. The recent downturn, called a “SaaS apocalypse,” was an opportunity to buy quality stocks that were undervalued despite better fundamentals and potential AI-driven gains. In February and early March, nearly all portfolio holdings reported strong earnings. However, the outbreak of war in Iran quickly overshadowed these gains, causing a rapid market selloff. While macro factors hurt performance in Q1, the firm is confident that its companies will do well in Q2 and beyond. In addition, please check the Strategy’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2026.
In its first-quarter 2026 investor letter, Cedar Grove Capital Management highlighted WW International, Inc. (NASDAQ:WW). Headquartered in New York, New York, WW International, Inc. (NASDAQ:WW) is a weight management products and services provider. On April 17, 2026, WW International, Inc. (NASDAQ:WW) closed at $10.98 per share. One-month return of WW International, Inc. (NASDAQ:WW) was -38.86%, and YTD its shares lost 62.42%. WW International, Inc. (NASDAQ:WW) has a market capitalization of $109.76 million.
Cedar Grove Capital Management stated the following regarding WW International, Inc. (NASDAQ:WW) in its Q1 2026 investor letter:
“WW International, Inc. (NASDAQ:WW): We’ve been highlighting the opportunity at WW after they emerged from bankruptcy as a leaner weight loss play on the booming GLP-1 market. With >$1 billion of their debt erased from bankruptcy proceedings, the trade here was for WW’s conservative forward estimates to represent a good entry point while the transformation into a medication-forward business took shape. We were pleased with just how much their clinical business was estimated to grow in Q1’26 due to the successful launch of the Wegovy Pill (+54% sequential growth), but we were very surprised by the sequential decline in behavioral subscribers during peak season, which has never happened during normal market circumstances as far as we know. Due to risk management decisions, we decided to heavily reduce our position in WW after this announcement and officially exited the position when Tara announced she stepped down as CEO once her employment contract ended on March 31st.
We had high hopes for this company and still think that it could work, but given the market environment we’re in and Tara leaving, we concluded that there were better risk/reward opportunities to deploy capital into.”
WW International, Inc. (NASDAQ:WW) is not on our list of 40 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds Heading Into 2026. According to our database, 17 hedge fund portfolios held WW International, Inc. (NASDAQ:WW) at the end of the fourth quarter, compared to 18 in the previous quarter. While we acknowledge the risk and potential of WW International, Inc. (NASDAQ:WW) 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 WW International, Inc. (NASDAQ:WW) and that has 10,000% upside potential, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.
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.
