Carillon Tower Advisers, an investment management company, released its "Carillon Eagle Small Cap Growth Fund" second-quarter 2025 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. In the second quarter, equity markets experienced one of their most turbulent periods in recent history. Small-cap stocks managed a rebound in the quarter, recovering from declines at the beginning of the year. Among style indexes, the Russell 2000® Growth Index led the way with an 11.96% gain, outpacing the Russell 2000® Value Index, which rose by 4.96%. In addition, please check the fund's top five holdings to know its best picks in 2025.
In its second-quarter 2025 investor letter, the Carillon Eagle Small Cap Growth Fund highlighted stocks such as AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV). AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) develops and supports a portfolio of robotic systems and related services. AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) stock fell 10.40% over the past month, while its shares appreciated 25.60% in value over the last 52 weeks. On August 19, 2025, AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) stock closed at $235.18 per share, with a market capitalization of $11.6 billion.
Carillon Eagle Small Cap Growth Fund stated the following regarding AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) in its second quarter 2025 investor letter: "AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) is a defense technology provider of integrated capabilities across air, land, sea, space, and cyberspace. Following several quarters of choppy results that caused investors to question the company's future growth prospects after a swift decline in the revenue contribution from Ukraine's war with Russia, the shares rebounded largely on the prospects of increased global defense spending in a number of next-generation product areas that the company provides. After a period of some doubt, the company also closed what we view as a transformational acquisition of BlueHalo."
AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 23 hedge fund portfolios held AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) at the end of the first quarter, which was 24 in the previous quarter. While we acknowledge the potential of AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk.