ClearBridge Investments, a global equity manager, recently published first-quarter 2026 commentary for its “Small Cap Growth Strategy”. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. The beginning of 2026 highlighted the significance of narratives, as the rapidly changing technological and geopolitical dynamics influenced market direction, leading the Russell 2000 Growth Index to decline by 2.8% for the quarter. Despite this, small-cap stocks continued to perform well. Market returns diversified in the first quarter, following a period of market concentration, favoring smaller-cap, value-oriented, and cyclical sectors. Concerns regarding the AI capital expenditure cycle led to increased sector dispersion. The ClearBridge Small Cap Growth Strategy outperformed its Russell 2000 Growth Index benchmark due to strong stock selection, particularly in industrials and consumer staples. The Strategy remains focused on identifying companies with sustainable, unique growth drivers, while reevaluating companies that may be affected by new technology. Please review the Strategy’s top five holdings to gain insights into their key selections for 2026.
In its first-quarter 2026 investor letter, ClearBridge Small Cap Growth Strategy highlighted stocks such as Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) as its newly acquired position. Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) is a contract research organization that provides drug discovery, development, and safety testing services to pharmaceutical and biotechnology firms. On April 9, 2026, Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) closed at $175.55 per share. One-month return of Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) was 12.92%, and its shares gained 75.99% over the past 52 weeks. Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) has a market capitalization of $8.66 billion.
ClearBridge Small Cap Growth Strategy stated the following regarding Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) in its Q1 2026 investor letter:
“We continued to deliver strong new idea generation with eight new portfolio additions in the quarter. Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL), in the health care sector, is the leading preclinical CRO providing essential drug research services to biopharmaceutical customers. Its scale and integrated platform position the company to benefit disproportionately as preclinical research activity and biotech funding recover.”
Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) is not on our list of 40 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds Heading Into 2026. According to our database, 53 hedge fund portfolios held Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) at the end of the fourth quarter, up from 50 in the previous quarter. While we acknowledge the risk and potential of Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) 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 Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) and that has 10,000% upside potential, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.
In another article, we covered Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) and shared Ariel Investments Appreciation Fund’s views on the company last quarter. 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.
