Twitter Inc (TWTR), Kraft Foods Group Inc (KRFT), Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl Inc (VRX): The 3 Biggest Large Cap Gainers of the First Quarter

The second biggest gainer was Kraft Foods Group Inc (NASDAQ:KRFT) jumping by 39.04%. Kraft Foods Group Inc (NASDAQ:KRFT)’s stock grew entirely due to its purchase by Brazilian private equity firm 3G Capital on March 25; in facts shares were down slightly year-to-date until the announcement. The iconic American food company will now be merged with the privately owned Heinz, which is co-owned by 3G and Warren Buffett, who was also involved in the Kraft deal. Buffett and 3G agreed to split the costs of a $10 billion special dividend payment to the current Kraft shareholders.

A total of 36 of the funds that we track had a position in Kraft Foods Group Inc (NASDAQ:KRFT) at the end of 2014, down slightly from 37 a quarter earlier, though the aggregate value of their investments grew to $744 million from $644 million. Phill Gross and Robert Atchinson’s Adage Capital Management is the largest shareholder among these funds, owning 2.57 million shares, followed by billionaires Ken Griffin, Israel Englander, and D.E Shaw, among others.

Lastly is Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl Inc (NYSE:VRX), which advanced by 38.79% during the first quarter, largely on the strength of its $11.1 billion purchase of Salix Pharmaceuticals in February, which has been recently completed. The successful purchase for the Montreal, Canada-based pharmaceutical company followed a failed attempt last year to purchase botox maker Allergan, which was sold to Actavis plc (NYSE:ACT) instead. Nor was the Salix purchase without its own dramatic battle, as Endo International plc (NASDAQ:ENDP) also made a bid, which forced Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl Inc (NYSE:VRX) to increase its offer to $173 per share.

Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl Inc (NYSE:VRX) was one of the most popular stocks among the hedge funds we track at the end of 2014, with 102 investors reporting long positions, up from 90 a quarter ago. Hedge funds also had a hefty $14.08 billion aggregate investment in the stock, up from $13.29 billion the previous quarter, which placed Valeant on the ninth spot among all companies in terms of invested capital value from the funds that we track. Jeffrey Ubben’s ValueAct Capital is the largest shareholder as of the end of 2014, owning 19.38 million shares. However, activist investor Bill Ackman has recently opened a slightly larger position that contains 19.47 million shares, representing 5.7% of the company’s stock.

Disclosure: None