The Hottest Biotech And Healthcare Stocks Among Hedge Fund Billionaires
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Despite the U.S. stock market’s turbulent moves last week, the healthcare sector remains a bright spot. While the S&P 500 has wiped out gains and dropped 2% in total return year-to-date, the healthcare segment has risen 5.7%.
To find the next big bets of the healthcare and pharmaceutical sectors, we compile a list of top U.S. trades of the richest hedge fund billionaires for the quarter ending on June 30. These top picks – ten buys and ten sells – are ranked by the number of billionaires who bought or sold the stock in a material way (at least 10,000 shares), according to data from Whalewisdom.com.
Merger and acquisition targets remain the most popular top buys among hedge fund billionaires, as global healthcare remains the most active industry M&A with 1,800 deals so far this year. Drug maker Perrigo has drawn the most votes of confidence despite turning down the $34.1 billion bid from Mylan MYL -2.04% (No.2 on our list) – a sign that investors still expect a better offer to come through. Shrewd hedge fund investors also eyed two healthcare insurers, Aetna AET -1.75% and Humana HUM -0.67%, which are gearing up for an industry-shaking megamerger. Not a bad bet given the two stocks soared more than 40% since the deal’s announcement in early July.
While our top buy list consists of potential merger targets, the top sell list reflects the exits of top hedge funds from their previous bets. Following the completion of theAllergan AGN -1.65%-Actavis merger, hedge fund billionaires from Bill Ackman to George Soros have unwound their positions. Another notable exit is Salix, which Valeant acquired after edging out rival bidder Endo International.
Here are the top 20 healthcare trades by the richest hedge fund billionaires:
TOP BUY:
Perrigo
Mylan
Humana
Aetna Inc.
Endo International
Baxter International BAX -0.78%
CIGNA Corp.
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries
Omnicare, Inc.
Despite the U.S. stock market’s turbulent moves last week, the healthcare sector remains a bright spot. While the S&P 500 has wiped out gains and dropped 2% in total return year-to-date, the healthcare segment has risen 5.7%.
To find the next big bets of the healthcare and pharmaceutical sectors, we compile a list of top U.S. trades of the richest hedge fund billionaires for the quarter ending on June 30. These top picks – ten buys and ten sells – are ranked by the number of billionaires who bought or sold the stock in a material way (at least 10,000 shares), according to data from Whalewisdom.com.
Merger and acquisition targets remain the most popular top buys among hedge fund billionaires, as global healthcare remains the most active industry M&A with 1,800 deals so far this year. Drug maker Perrigo has drawn the most votes of confidence despite turning down the $34.1 billion bid from Mylan (No.2 on our list) – a sign that investors still expect a better offer to come through. Shrewd hedge fund investors also eyed two healthcare insurers, Aetna and Humana, which are gearing up for an industry-shaking megamerger. Not a bad bet given the two stocks soared more than 40% since the deal’s announcement in early July.
While our top buy list consists of potential merger targets, the top sell list reflects the exits of top hedge funds from their previous bets. Following the completion of the Allergan-Actavis merger, hedge fund billionaires from Bill Ackman to George Soros have unwound their positions. Another notable exit is Salix, which Valeant acquired after edging out rival bidder EndoInternational.
Here are the top 20 healthcare trades by the richest hedge fund billionaires:
TOP BUY:
Perrigo
Mylan
Humana
Aetna Inc.
Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc.
Endo International
Baxter International
CIGNA Corp.
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries
Omnicare, Inc.
TOP SELL:
Allergan (Formerly Actavis)
Pharmacyclics Inc.
Illumina Inc
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries
Laboratory Corp. of America
Curis
Shire Pfizer
McKesson Corp.
sOURCE:http://www.forbes.com
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