10 Most Popular Healthcare Stocks Among Hedge Funds

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3. Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl Inc (NYSE:VRX) enjoyed a strong fourth quarter despite losing out on acquiring Actavis, and has enjoyed an even stronger start to 2015, up 18.41%. Ownership in Valeant rose to 13.8% from 13.3% the previous filing period, pushing it from fifth to third among healthcare stocks, as funds came back into the stock after migrating from it during the third quarter. Some of the fund managers benefiting from its torrid run of late are Jeffrey Ubben, Andreas Halvorsen, and Stephen Mandel.

Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl Inc (NYSE:VRX)

4. Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) is the only new entrant to the top five, with fund ownership increasing to 13.2% from 11.9%. Gilead has often been mentioned as a possible takeover target itself, though it’s been the only one doing any taking over thus far, most recently purchasing Phenex Pharmaceuticals in a deal worth up to $470 million. Gilead enjoyed a strong 2014, despite a nearly 15% drop in late December, when AbbVie Inc (NYSE:ABBV) announced the price of their competing Hepatitis C treatment would come in well under Gilead’s own. Phill Gross and Robert Atchinson of Adage Capital Management, as well as Ken Griffin and Steve Cohen, are some of the hedge fund managers with large stakes in Gilead.

5. Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) rounds out the top five, swapping places with Valeant, as it falls from third to fifth. Fund ownership decreased to 11.7% from 13.4%, as it underperformed in 2014, returning just 1.66%. However the story has been different in 2015 thus far, as it has gained 9.68%, despite an earnings report that barely met estmates, and future guidance that fell under it. Pfizer has seen strong growth in some of their newer treatments, which is partial cause for the optimism. Cliff Asness, Ric Dillon, and John A. Levin were all bullish on Pfizer last quarter, adding to already substantial positions.

Rounding out the top ten were Covidien plc (NYSE:COV) – 11%, HCA Holdings Inc (NYSE:HCA) – 10.9%, Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) – 10.3%, Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) – 9.9%, and Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc (NASDAQ:WBA) – 9.5%. HCA Holdings was the only company to fall out of the top five, sliding from fourth to seventh.

Disclosure: None

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