Columbus Circle Investors Reduces Holdings in Its 3 Top Stock Picks of Q2

Moving on to Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD), in which Columbus Circle Investors reduced its stake by 14% to over 3.56 million shares, worth$417.10 million during the April-June quarter. Shares of the biopharmaceutical company rose by almost 20% during the second quarter with most of those gains coming on the back of spectacular first-quarter results.Moreover, the company again declared better than expected second-quarter results on July 28 boosted by sales of its Hepatitis-C drugs, Solvadi and Harvoni. Its EPS for the second-quarter came in at $2.92 on revenue of $8.2 billion, compared to EPS of $2.20 on revenue of $6.5 billion it reported for the same quarter last year. On July 1, the company sought approval from the US Food and Drug Administration for a new daily regimen drug to treat 12 years or older HIV patients. In the last few months there have been concerns that Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) might not be able to continue its strong growth as the Hepatitis-C  drugs that it relies heavily on may face significant heat from AbbVie Inc (NYSE:ABBV)’s competing drug Viekira Pak, which is also cheaper. Columbus Circle Investors was the largest shareholder of  Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) in our database at the end of first-quarter, followed by Cliff Asness’ AQR Capital Management.

Columbus Circle Investors reduced its stake in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) also by 9% over the quarter. The fund sold 285,837 shares of the company, bringing its position down to slightly over 2.71 million shares worth $311.20 million at the end of June. Shares of the Pittsburgh-based coating giant recently went through a 2-for-1 stock split on June 15. PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) has made a reputation as a dividend play on the Street, boasting a dividend increase every year for the last two decades. On July 7, the company announced that it has completed the acquisition of Cuming Microwave Corporation and its wholly owned  subsidiary Cuming-Lehman Chambers, Inc. However, it has not revealed the financial terms of the deal. On July 16, the company reported its second-quarter earnings, which included EPS of $1.67 above analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62. However, its shares haven’t reacted too well to the earnings, falling significantly since then. Among the hedge funds we cover, Ken Griffin‘s Citadel Investment Group was the second-largest shareholder of PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) after Columbus Circle Investors at the end of first-quarter.

Disclosure: None