Carillon Tower Advisers, an investment management company, released its first-quarter 2026 investor letter for the “Carillon Eagle Mid Cap Growth Fund”. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. Mid-cap stocks delivered mixed results in the first quarter, and value notably outperformed growth. The Russell Midcap® Growth Index (down 6.35%) lagged behind the Russell Midcap® Value Index (up 3.69%). The notable contributing sector was energy, returning 45.23%, outperforming other sectors in the growth index and its value peers. The first quarter was volatile for equity markets, but investors were optimistic. However, military strikes on Iran caused energy prices to rise, creating uncertainty among investors. Despite this turbulence, with improved valuations and potential positive developments from de-escalation in the Middle East, the firm is optimistic that the current market fluctuations will be short-lived. In addition, please check the Fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2026.
In its first-quarter 2026 investor letter, Carillon Eagle Mid Cap Growth Fund highlighted stocks like Carvana Co. (NYSE:CVNA). Carvana Co. (NYSE:CVNA) is a US-based used car retailer that operates an e-commerce platform. On April 20, 2026, Carvana Co. (NYSE:CVNA) closed at $401.99 per share. One-month return of Carvana Co. (NYSE:CVNA) was 33.56%, and its shares gained 89.66% over the past 52 weeks. Carvana Co. (NYSE:CVNA) has a market capitalization of $88.72 billion.
Carillon Eagle Mid Cap Growth Fund stated the following regarding Carvana Co. (NYSE:CVNA) in its Q1 2026 investor letter:
“Carvana Co. (NYSE:CVNA) is an online used car retailer that enables customers to buy, sell, and finance vehicles through a fully digital platform. The stock sold off on quarterly results. While new units and revenue were strong, profitability trailed expectations. Costs associated with refurbishing vehicles rose more than expected. This cost issue is likely to take at least a quarter to regain control and in the near term takes the luster away from very strong unit growth.”
Carvana Co. (NYSE:CVNA) is not on our list of 40 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds Heading Into 2026. According to our database, 100 hedge fund portfolios held Carvana Co. (NYSE:CVNA) at the end of the fourth quarter, compared to 109 in the previous quarter. In Q4 2025, Carvana Co. (NYSE:CVNA) reported revenue of $5.603 billion, marking an increase of 58% from Q4 2024. While we acknowledge the risk and potential of Carvana Co. (NYSE:CVNA) 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 Carvana Co. (NYSE:CVNA) and that has 10,000% upside potential, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.
In another article, we covered Carvana Co. (NYSE:CVNA) and shared the list of best auto and truck dealership stocks to buy. 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.
