Conestoga Capital Advisors, an asset management company, released its second-quarter 2026 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. The letter reports a positive market shift towards Small Caps, with the Russell 2000 Index achieving its best first half since 1991 and the Russell 2000 Growth Index up 25.7% in Q2, fueled by AI enthusiasm and semiconductor stocks. However, market leadership was uneven, with high-beta stocks outperforming while quality companies lagged, affecting Conestoga’s strategies. Management is confident that speculative leadership won’t endure as monetary policy tightens and expects high-quality growth businesses to regain prominence as market leadership broadens. The Conestoga SMid Cap Composite returned 7.04% (net) in the second quarter, underperforming the Russell 2500 Growth Index, which returned 24.02%. A combination of factor and sector-specific headwinds drove the underperformance, along with stock selection challenges, particularly within Technology and Industrials. In addition, please check the Strategy’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2026.
In its Q2 2026 investor letter, Conestoga Capital Advisors highlighted Bio-Techne Corporation (NASDAQ:TECH) as a performance contributor. Bio-Techne Corporation (NASDAQ:TECH) is a leader in the life science research market that engages in the manufacturing and selling of life science reagents, instruments, and services. On August 5, 2026, Bio-Techne Corporation (NASDAQ:TECH) closed at $72.00 per share, reflecting a market capitalization of $11.22 billion. Bio-Techne Corporation (NASDAQ:TECH) posted a one-month return of 1.19%, while its shares gained 43.57% over the past 52 weeks.
Conestoga Capital Advisors stated the following regarding Bio-Techne Corporation (NASDAQ:TECH) in its Q2 2026 investor letter:
“Bio-Techne Corporation (NASDAQ:TECH) develops life science research tools, and diagnostic products used by pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and academic researchers. The company benefited from growing confidence that several temporary headwinds are beginning to subside, as improving academic funding and continued strength in large pharmaceutical customers offset lingering weakness in emerging biotech. In the quarter, Bio-Techne agreed to an acquisition by Merck KGaA (MRK-GR).”
Bio-Techne Corporation (NASDAQ:TECH) is not on our list of 40 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds Heading Into 2026. According to our database, 41 hedge fund portfolios held Bio-Techne Corporation (NASDAQ:TECH) at the end of the first quarter, the same as in the previous quarter. While we acknowledge the risk and potential of Bio-Techne Corporation (NASDAQ:TECH) 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 Bio-Techne Corporation (NASDAQ:TECH) and that has 10,000% upside potential, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.
In another article, we covered Bio-Techne Corporation (NASDAQ:TECH) and shared a list of stocks winning by double digits. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q2 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.
