Independent Investment Manager Sells $24.6 Million of Exponent Stock, According to Recent Filing

On October 24, 2025, Conestoga Capital Advisors, LLC disclosed in a new SEC filing that it sold 344,631 shares of Exponent (NASDAQ:EXPO), an estimated trade valued at $24.63 million.

What Happened

According to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission dated October 24, 2025, Conestoga Capital Advisors, LLC reduced its stake in Exponent by 344,631 shares in the third quarter ended September 30, 2025. The estimated value of the shares sold was $24.63 million, calculated using the average closing price for the quarter. The fund now holds 2,361,196 shares valued at $164.06 million as of September 30, 2025.

What Else to Know

This was a partial sale; Exponent now represents 2.63% of Conestoga's 13F AUM in the third quarter of 2025, down from 2.99% in the previous quarter.

Top holdings after the filing:

• NASDAQ:CWST: $272.88 million (4.4% of AUM as of September 30, 2025)
• NASDAQ:ROAD: $270.75 million (4.3% of AUM as of September 30, 2025)
• NASDAQ:DSGX: $248.34 million (4.0% of AUM as of September 30, 2025)
• NYSE:RBC: $244.30 million (3.9% of AUM as of September 30, 2025)
• NASDAQ:FSV: $233.02 million (3.7% of AUM as of September 30, 2025)

As of October 23, 2025, Exponent shares were priced at $68.96, down 35.61% for the year ended October 23, 2025; shares have underperformed the S&P 500 by 50.09 percentage points during the same period.

Company Overview

Company Snapshot

Exponent is a leading provider of multidisciplinary consulting services, leveraging scientific and engineering expertise to address critical technical and regulatory challenges for clients worldwide. The company’s strategy emphasizes deep expertise across technical disciplines. Exponent’s broad client base and focus on complex problem-solving underpin its competitive advantage in the consulting services sector.

The company provides science and engineering consulting services across approximately 90 technical disciplines, including biomechanics, civil engineering, data sciences, environmental sciences, and health sciences. It operates a fee-for-service business model, generating revenue from specialized consulting engagements and technical analyses for complex client challenges.

Exponent serves a diversified client base spanning industries such as chemical, construction, consumer products, energy, government, life sciences, manufacturing, insurance, and technology.

Foolish Take

Conestoga Capital Advisors, an independent investment management company based in Pennsylvania, recently disclosed a sale of roughly $24.6 million worth of Exponent stock.

By selling $24.6 million worth of Exponent shares, Conestoga has certainly cut its exposure to Exponent stock, however, this sale must be put into proper context. Conestoga still retains over $164 million of Exponent stock, so the reduction amounts to roughly 13% of its overall position in the company. That's still a significant reduction, but, in the grand scheme of things, it's not a particularly drastic cut.

However, the timing of the sale does raise some questions about whether the fund managers at Conestoga still rate the stock highly. Shares of Exponent are down 21% year-to-date, while shares of the S&P 500 have advanced by nearly 17%. This means Exponent stock has severely underperformed the S&P 500. This trend is even more pronounced if one compares its relative performance to the S&P 500 over a longer period, such as three years (The S&P 500 has outperformed Exponent stock by more than 100 percentage points over the last three years).

To sum up, this transaction provides mixed messages for retail investors. Overall, it is a bearish signal, given that the fund has sold shares and that the stock has underperformed the benchmark index for several years running. However, the fund managers didn't sell all of shares of exponent, or even a majority of them. Indeed, the stock still remains the fund's 11th-largest holding, hinting that the fund managers retain some confidence in the company.

All in all, this transaction paints a messy picture -- retail investors would be best served by not taking any direct action based on this sale alone.

Glossary

AUM (Assets Under Management): The total market value of assets a fund or investment manager oversees on behalf of clients.
13F: A quarterly SEC filing required from institutional investment managers to disclose their equity holdings.
Partial sale: Selling only a portion of an investment position, rather than the entire holding.
Fee-for-service business model: A model where clients pay for each specific service or project provided, rather than a flat fee or subscription.
Technical disciplines: Specialized fields of science or engineering expertise, such as biomechanics or data sciences.
Diversified client base: Serving a wide range of customers across different industries, reducing reliance on any single sector.
TTM: The 12-month period ending with the most recent quarterly report.
Consulting engagements: Projects or assignments where a firm is hired to provide expert advice or analysis.
Competitive advantage: A unique strength or capability that allows a company to outperform its competitors.
Reportable U.S. equity assets: The portion of a fund's U.S. stock holdings that must be disclosed in regulatory filings.

Jake Lerch has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Descartes Systems Group. The Motley Fool recommends FirstService. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.