Brown Capital Management, an investment management company, released its first quarter 2026 investor letter for “The Brown Capital Management Small Company Fund”. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. In the first quarter of 2026, the Small Company Fund (Investor shares) fell 19.78%, significantly lagging the Russell 2000 Growth index’s 2.81% decline. Worsened market conditions due to the Iran war, driving the oil price spike and increased volatility in equities. Despite stabilization in the performance as the quarter progressed, early declines and weakness in large positions significantly impacted the Fund’s performance. Please review the Fund’s top five holdings to gain insights into their key selections for 2026.
In its first-quarter 2026 investor letter, The Brown Capital Management Small Company Fund highlighted stocks like Repligen Corporation (NASDAQ:RGEN). Repligen Corporation (NASDAQ:RGEN) is a life science company that develops and distributes bioprocessing technologies and systems. On June 23, 2026, Repligen Corporation (NASDAQ:RGEN) closed at $126.37 per share. One-month return of Repligen Corporation (NASDAQ:RGEN) was 11.66%, and its shares gained 1.89% over the past 52 weeks. Repligen Corporation (NASDAQ:RGEN) has a market capitalization of $7.13 billion.
The Brown Capital Management Small Company Fund stated the following regarding Repligen Corporation (NASDAQ:RGEN) in its Q1 2026 investor letter:
“Among the top detractors to performance in the first quarter of 2026 was Repligen Corporation (NASDAQ:RGEN). Repligen Corporation is a life-sciences company that develops and manufactures products used throughout the complex process of making biological drugs, helping its customers increase efficiency and reduce costs. Biological drugs make up roughly a quarter of the overall pharmaceutical market, and biologics sales are growing in the high single-digits, at roughly double the rate of the overall pharmaceutical industry. Repligen’s products are used in the process of manufacturing hundreds of biological drugs in various phases, helping customers increase efficiency and reduce costs. Given its diverse customer base, we believe Repligen is well-positioned to benefit from the growing number of biological drugs being developed and commercialized, regardless of which specific drugs wind up being successful. In addition to serving a growing market, Repligen offers differentiated products in markets where the larger vendors have failed to innovate. The company is also expanding its portfolio with strategic M&A and organic innovation.
During the first quarter of 2026, Repligen’s stock price declined steadily and then dropped sharply following the Feb. 24 earnings release. The market reacted poorly to Repligen’s initial 2026 financial guidance. Management guided for 10% to 14% reported revenue growth and 9% to 13% organic growth for the full year 2026. This outlook signaled a growth deceleration compared to the 14% organic growth achieved in the fourth quarter, prompting further price weakness. Given the company’s long-term opportunities, we see this as an overreaction and still view Repligen as an EGC.”
Repligen Corporation (NASDAQ:RGEN) is not on our list of 40 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds Heading Into 2026. According to our database, 40 hedge fund portfolios held Repligen Corporation (NASDAQ:RGEN) at the end of the first quarter, up from 43 in the previous quarter. In Q1 2026, Repligen Corporation (NASDAQ:RGEN) reported revenue of $194 million, marking an increase of 15% year over year. While we acknowledge the risk and potential of Repligen Corporation (NASDAQ:RGEN) 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 Repligen Corporation (NASDAQ:RGEN) and that has 10,000% upside potential, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.
In another article, we covered Repligen Corporation (NASDAQ:RGEN) and shared Osterweis Opportunity Fund’s insights on the company. 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.
