Five Foreign Stocks Hedge Funds Love

#3 Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl Inc (NYSE:VRX)

Investors with Long Positions (as of September 30): 88

Aggregate Value of Investors’ Holdings (as of September 30): $17.7 Billion

Valeant has been a relatively controversed stock lately. On the one hand, it has dropped by 47% since the end of September, amid several events related to drug-pricing policies and management changes. However, at the same time, some notorious investors reiterated their confidence in the company. Among others, Bill Ackman has been buying shares in the last couple of months and according to Pershing Square’s latest 13D filing, the activist owns some 30.71 million shares, which represent 9% of Valeant’s outstanding common stock and compares with 19.47 million shares it disclosed in its 13F filing for the end of the third quarter. In his last investor letter, Bill Ackman said:

“There are a number of relatively short-term catalysts that we believe may lift the overhang on Valeant shares. We expect that this morning’s announcement will reduce if not eliminate concerns about disruptions in the distribution of Valeant’s dermatology products. […] The company will likely file its 10-K in February with the results of Price Waterhouse’s year-end audit. This should comfort investors who have concerns about Valeant’s accounting. While we expect a messy fourth quarter due to the shutdown of Philidor and investigative costs, the company should be able to post “clean” quarters beginning in the second quarter of next year. With the passage of time, the reduction in uncertainty, increased transparency, the reporting of operating results which we anticipate to be strong, along with the deleveraging of the balance sheet, we expect Valeant stock to rise substantially.”

#2 Liberty Global plc – Class C Ordinary Shares (NASDAQ:LBTYK)

Investors with Long Positions (as of September 30): 89

Aggregate Value of Investors’ Holdings (as of September 30): $8.28 Billion

The total number of hedge funds with long positions in Liberty Global plc – Class C Ordinary Shares (NASDAQ:LBTYK) inched up by one during the third quarter, while the aggregate value of their holdings slid by 14% during the third quarter. Since the end of September, the stock slid by more than 25% amid the broader market sell-off and investors’ growing concerns about the cost-cutting trend that has started recently. Nevertheless, smart money investors seem to be bullish on Liberty Global plc, and among the funds we track, the sentiment has been steady with 89 funds holding some 23% of the stock at the end of September. In the current round of 13F filings, Lou Simpson’s SQ Advisors reported holding nearly 8.31 million shares of Liberty Global plc – Class C Ordinary Shares (NASDAQ:LBTYK) as of the end of December.