These Are US Hedge Funds’ Favorite European Stocks

NXP Semiconductors NV’s (NASDAQ:NXPI) had 57 funds tracked by us long its shares at the end of the second quarter, holding $1.4 billion worth of stock, compared to 52 funds and $1.64 billion a quarter earlier. NXP Semiconductors has been in the spotlight lately and its stock surged at the end of September amid rumors that QUALCOMM, Inc. (NASDAQ:QCOM) might acquire it in a deal that could be worth more than $30 billion. Seeing as NXP is one of the leading chipmakers for the automotive industry, it’s not surprising that QUALCOMM is interested, but so are other companies, like Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) or Texas Instruments (NYSE:TXN). As semiconductor space is suffering from a declining PC market and a slowdown in smartphone space, experts anticipate the industry consolidation to continue and NXP semiconductors is one of the most interesting targets for an acquisition.

The number of funds holding shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals plc- Ordinary Shares (NASDAQ:JAZZ) rose to 46 from 34 during the second quarter and the total value of their holdings surged to $4.38 billion from $546.31 million and amassed 51.30% of Jazz Pharmaceuticals shares at the end of June. The stock is down by around 12% since the beginning of the year. Back in July, Jazz Pharmaceuticals plc- Ordinary Shares (NASDAQ:JAZZ) completed the acquisition of Celator and earlier this month it started the rolling submission of its New Drug Application of Vyxeos, a drug for the treatment of accute myeloid leukemia, which Jazz obtained via acquiring Celator. The company plans to complete the filing of NDA to the US Food and Drug Administration early next year. For the second quarter, Jazz Pharmaceutical’s earnings came in at $2.63 per share, well below the consensus estimate of $2.80 per share, while revenue of $381.16 million topped the estimates of $376.42 million.

At the end of June, there were 43 funds from our database long LyondellBasell Industries NV (NYSE:LYB), holding $1.42 billion worth of shares, significantly lower than 54 funds with $2.35 billion worth of stock a quarter earlier. Last month, Saudi Arabia’s oil company, Saudi Aramco, made a bid to acquire LyondellBasel Industries NV (NYSE:LYB) refinery in Houston and was considered to be one of the front-runners, although a deal has not been officially announced. The deal would allow Saudi Aramco to expand its operations in the US, but the recent “9/11 bill” passed by the US congress, which allows families of 9/11 victims to sue Saudi Arabia, might create tensions between the governments of two countries and jeopardize any potential deal.

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