Five Healthcare Stocks Hedge Funds Are Bullish On

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) ranked as the second most-popular healthcare stock among the funds we track, as the number of funds bullish on the company surged to 109 from 97 during the October-December period. Additionally, the aggregate value of these funds’ positions went up to $8.62 billion from $6.09 billion and represented 4.30% of Pfizer’s outstanding stock at the end of December. In this way, Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) is trailing only Allergan, the company it is in the process of acquiring in a deal worth $160 billion. Pfizer plans to relocate its headquarters to Dublin following the acquisition of Allergan, which would allow it to save around $35 billion in taxes, as estimated by Americans for Tax Fairness group. The move sparked a lot of discussions regarding inversion deals, but investors are looking forward to the merger as it will create one of the leading drug manufacturers in the world and will create considerable synergies for both companies. Among the funds in our database, billionaire Ken Fisher‘s Fisher Asset Management is the largest shareholder of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE), owning 32.33 million shares as of the end of 2015.

Finally, Allergan plc Ordinary Shares (NYSE:AGN) ranked as the most popular healthcare stock among the funds we track, and the top pick overall, with 159 funds holding $22.24 billion worth of stock at the end of December, compared to 151 funds owning $2.05 billion worth of stock a quarter earlier. In this way, the funds from our database amassed 18.10% of Allergan plc Ordinary Shares (NYSE:AGN)’s outstanding stock heading into 2016, while the largest position was held by Viking Global, which reported 5.98 million shares in its last 13F filing. Allergan plc Ordinary Shares (NYSE:AGN)’s stock has inched down by 8% since the beginning of the year and is currently trading at a significant discount to Pfizer’s bid of $333.24 per share. This development created some uncertainty around the merger, but representatives of both companies have assured that the deal is on track and the main concern is whether or not the US government will let the deal go through, since it would allow Pfizer to slash its tax bill, as stated earlier.

Disclosure: none