Scout Investments, Inc, an affiliate of Carillon Tower Advisers, released the “Carillon Scout Small Cap Fund” second quarter 2024 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. In the second quarter, the small-cap growth market was down. Higher quality, earners, and larger small caps were among the traits of many of the stocks that outperformed higher-priced securities. Consumer staples and communication services were among the Russell 2000? Growth Index's top-performing sectors; real estate and consumer discretionary were among the worst-performing. During the second quarter, the S&P 500 Index beat the Russell 2000? Index by almost 7.6%. In comparison to their large-cap counterparts, small-cap valuations remain attractive, and they are cheaper when compared to historical ratios. In addition, please check the fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2024.

Carillon Scout Small Cap Fund highlighted stocks like LeMaitre Vascular, Inc. (NASDAQ:LMAT) in the second quarter 2024 investor letter. LeMaitre Vascular, Inc. (NASDAQ:LMAT) develops, manufactures, and markets medical tools for vascular procedures. The one-month return of LeMaitre Vascular, Inc. (NASDAQ:LMAT) was 4.76%, and its shares gained 55.98% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On September 13, 2024, LeMaitre Vascular, Inc. (NASDAQ:LMAT) stock closed at $89.60 per share with a market capitalization of $2.013 billion.

Carillon Scout Small Cap Fund stated the following regarding LeMaitre Vascular, Inc. (NASDAQ:LMAT) in its Q2 2024 investor letter:

"LeMaitre Vascular, Inc. (NASDAQ:LMAT) provides medical devices used in the treatment of peripheral vascular disease, end-stage renal disease, and cardio-vascular disease. Robust global markets continue to drive positive results for the company."

A doctor examining a patient using a vascular disease diagnosis device.

LeMaitre Vascular, Inc. (NASDAQ:LMAT) is not on our list of 31 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 14 hedge fund portfolios held LeMaitre Vascular, Inc. (NASDAQ:LMAT) at the end of the second quarter which was 16 in the previous quarter. LeMaitre Vascular, Inc. (NASDAQ:LMAT) had a great second quarter, with a 12% increase in organic revenue and 44% growth in EPS. While we acknowledge the potential of LeMaitre Vascular, Inc. (NASDAQ:LMAT) as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter timeframe. If you are looking for an AI stock that is as promising as NVIDIA but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.