5 Healthcare Stocks to Buy According to Billionaire Noam Gottesman’s GLG Partners

3. Merck & Co. Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Noam Gottesman’s Stake Value: $169 million

Percentage of Noam Gottesman’s 13F Portfolio: 0.59%

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 79

By the end of the second quarter of this year, Noam Gottesman’s GLG Partners held 2.1 million shares of Merck & Co. Inc. (NYSE:MRK) with the stake equaling $169 million and representing 0.59% of the investment firm’s portfolio.

The company’s biggest hedge fund holder is Irving Kahn’s Kahn Brothers, which holds 716,329 shares that are roughly worth $55 billion.

Artisan Partners in its first quarter investor letter highlighted that:

“In Q1, we initiated a position in Merck, a provider of health care solutions including prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies, animal health and consumer care products. We purchased Merck when the stock came under pressure in part on concerns that the newly minted Biden administration could implement regulatory changes and lower drug costs in the pharmaceutical industry. Recent, but anticipated changes to Merck’s management team have also weighed on shares, as have concerns over the company’s heavy reliance on immunotherapy treatment Keytruda. Notably, Merck is not getting much credit from investors for the 60+ programs it has in clinical development, despite having several solid and large new product opportunities. Additionally, the company’s strong balance sheet and robust free cash flow provide it multiple options for future partnerships and acquisitions. While Merck is undergoing a period of transition, we think the company’s fundamentals are strong and believe changes to management should be a catalyst for improvement.”