Bill Miller Portfolio: 5 Picks From Legendary Value Investor

2. Viatris Inc. (NASDAQ:VTRS)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 42

Miller Value Partners’ Stake Value: $8,238,490

Viatris Inc. (NASDAQ:VTRS) is a global healthcare company that functions through four segments – Developed Markets, Greater China, JANZ, and Emerging Markets. Viatris Inc. (NASDAQ:VTRS) is one of the top Bill Miller stocks to monitor. In Q2 2023, Miller’s fund held 825,500 shares of the company worth $8.2 million, representing 5.41% of the total portfolio. 

On September 27, Viatris Inc. (NASDAQ:VTRS) and Ocuphire Pharma received FDA approval for RYZUMVl, a topical eye drop for treating dilated pupils during eye examinations and surgery. It is expected to be available in the US by the first half of 2024.

According to Insider Monkey’s second quarter database, 42 hedge funds were bullish on Viatris Inc. (NASDAQ:VTRS), compared to 46 funds in the last quarter. James E. Flynn’s Deerfield Management is the largest stakeholder of the company, with 17.70 million shares worth $176.6 million. 

Miller Value Partners Income Strategy made the following comment about Viatris Inc. (NASDAQ:VTRS) in its Q1 2023 investor letter:

“Viatris Inc. (NASDAQ:VTRS) dropped in the quarter after it reported 4Q22 net sales of $3.87B, -10.7% Y/Y (-2% excluding foreign exchange impact), below consensus of $3.96B, and EPS of $0.83, compared to a 4Q21 net loss per share of -$0.22, ahead of consensus of $0.72. The company generated FY22 FCF of $2.55B, or a FCF yield of 22.1% and paid down $3.3B of debt in 2022, bringing total debt reduction to $5.4B since 2021. Management maintained its annual dividend at $0.48/share for FY23, or a ~5.0% yield, and repurchased ~$250MM worth of shares in January and February of 2023, or ~2.2% of the company’s market cap. For FY23, management is guiding for revenues of $15.8B (-2.9% Y/Y), Adjusted EBITDA of $5.2B (33.0% margin), and FCF of $2.5B, at the respective midpoints. The company also announced that Scott Smith, a board member of Viatris since December 2022, has been appointed as the company’s new CEO effective 4/1/23. Smith has previously served as the president and chief operating officer at Celgene Corporation, and most recently held the position of President at BioAlta, a publicly traded biotechnology company focused on the development of Conditionally Active Biologics antibody therapeutics.”