Facebook, Adobe, Among Maverick Capital’s Major Q1 Buys as It Looks to Dominate Its Peers Yet Again

#3 Priceline Group Inc (NASDAQ:PCLN)

 – Shares Owned by Maverick Capital (as of March 31): 262,600

 – Value of Holding (as of March 31): $338.50 Million

A total of about 261,300 shares were added to Maverick’s Priceline Group Inc (NASDAQ:PCLN) holding during the first quarter, accounting for most of the holding. The stock is trading nearly sideways this year, and took a huge hit of over $100 on May 4, even though the company managed to beat both top and bottom-line estimates with its first quarter results announced that morning. The EPS outlook that the company’s management provided for the second quarter fell below the consensus estimates, which lead to the record tumble. The lower guidance could very well have to do with the fact that the company is still looking for a CEO and given its unique business model, the task isn’t particularly an easy one. John Armitage‘s Egerton Capital Limited boosted its Priceline Group Inc (NASDAQ:PCLN) holding by 47% to 376,600 shares during the first quarter.

#2 Allergan plc Ordinary Shares (NYSE:AGN)

 – Shares Owned by Maverick Capital (as of March 31): 1.41 Million

 – Value of Holding (as of March 31): $378.02 Million

Maverick more than doubled its stake in Allergan during the January-to-March period, to over 1.41 million shares. The move was perhaps motivated by the company’s impending (at the time) $160 billion merger deal with Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE), which had many other hedgies betting on it, including John Paulson‘s Paulson & Co, which held about 5.42 million shares of Allergan plc Ordinary Shares (NYSE:AGN) at the end of March. However, the stock is down by over 27% this year largely due to the deal falling apart. In its financial results for the first quarter Allergan plc Ordinary Shares (NYSE:AGN) beat earnings expectations, delivering double-digit EPS growth on a year-over-year basis for the seventh-consecutive quarter.

#1 Adobe Systems Incorporated (NASDAQ:ADBE)

 – Shares Owned by Maverick Capital (as of March 31): 4.41 Million

 – Value of Holding (as of March 31): $413.72 Million

Following a 48% boost during the March quarter, Maverick’s Adobe Systems Incorporated (NASDAQ:ADBE) holding represented 6.55% of its portfolio and ranked as its second-largest position overall. The creative software and marketing analytics leader is in the midst of shifting its business model towards Software as a Service and cloud computing. It is also making acquisitions towards those ends, with the recent purchase of audience-engagement firm Livefyre as one such example, with Adobe planning to incorporate it across its Adobe Marketing Cloud. Aaron Cowen‘s Survetta Capital Management also hiked its Adobe Systems Incorporated (NASDAQ:ADBE) stake during the first quarter, by 89% to 1.86 million shares.

Disclosure: None