Healthcare-Focused Michael Castor Added These Stocks to His Portfolio Last Quarter

According to the latest 13F filing of Sio Capital, a global equity market healthcare hedge fund, the investment advisory has further increased its exposure in the healthcare industry. Its recent SEC 13F filing reported an equity portfolio worth $195.76 million, with nearly 90% of the portfolio comprising of healthcare stocks. The hedge fund led by Michael Castor had an active second quarter, having initiated 21 new positions and closed its stakes in 20 stocks. The top 10 stock positions of Sio Capital accounted for 56.40% of the overall portfolio value at the end of June.

In this article, we are going to discuss some of the latest stock positions initiated by Sio Capital during the June quarter, and their recent stock market performances.

We track hedge funds and prominent investors because our research has shown that historically their stock picks delivered superior risk-adjusted returns. This is especially true in the small-cap space. The 15 most popular small-cap stocks delivered a monthly alpha of 80 basis points in our back tests that covered the period between 1999 and 2012 (see the details here).

ChemoCentryx Inc (NASDAQ:CCXI)

– Shares held by Sio Capital (as of June 30): 642,828

– Value of Sio Capital’s stake (as of June 30): $2.89 million

Sio Capital initiated a new position in ChemoCentryx Inc (NASDAQ:CCXI), which amassed 1.45% of its equity portfolio at the end of the second quarter. Among the funds that we track at Insider Monkey, Connective Capital Management initiated the largest position in the biopharmaceutical company, owning 191,881 shares valued at $861,000, according to its recent 13F filing. The stock of ChemoCentryx Inc (NASDAQ:CCXI) slid by around 10% at the beginning of September after the company reported initial results from an ongoing phase Ib clinical trial for a drug designed to inhibit advanced pancreatic cancer. The clinical trials reported an overall response rate of 37% among the patients participating in the study, hence triggering a negative stock market response.

Hill-Rom Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:HRC)

– Shares held by Sio Capital (as of June 30): 83,600

– Value of Sio Capital’s stake (as of June 30): $4.22 million

Hill-Rom Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:HRC) is another major bet undertaken by Sio Capital in the previous quarter. The smart money investors from our database held a positive outlook for the medical technology company, as the number of funds long the stock went to 31 from 28 during the second quarter. Healthcor Management LP, lead by Arthur B Cohen and Joseph Healey, was among the top funds to initiate a new position in Hill-Rom Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:HRC) as it held 815,603 shares at the end of June. The medical technology firm announced its results for the fiscal third quarter (ended June 30) on August 4, reporting a 39% year-over-year growth in its worldwide revenue to $655 million, while its adjusted EPS increased by 31% on the year to $0.81.

Medtronic PLC (NYSE:MDT)

– Shares held by Sio Capital (as of June 30): 75,000

– Value of Sio Capital’s stake (as of June 30): $6.51 million

Medtronic PLC (NYSE:MDT) was the second largest healthcare position added to Sio Capital’s equity portfolio in the second quarter. Dmitry Balyasny’s Balyasny Asset Management was another fund in our database to initiate a long position in the medical technology company, owning 797,149 shares worth $69.17 million at the end of June. In August, Medtronic PLC (NYSE:MDT) announced the financial results for its fiscal 2017 first quarter, which ended on July 29. Its net revenue stood at $7.2 billion, 1% lower than the prior-year quarter, whereas its GAAP EPS rose by 16% over the year to $0.66.

Biogen Inc (NASDAQ:BIIB)

– Shares held by Sio Capital (as of June 30): 61,000

– Value of Sio Capital’s stake (as of June 30): $14.75 million

Biogen Inc (NASDAQ:BIIB) topped the list of new healthcare positions initiated by Sio Capital in the previous quarter, representing 7.54% of the overall portfolio value as of June 30. Among the hedge funds that we track at Insider Monkey, Healthcor Management LP topped the list of funds introducing a new stake in the company, with a stake worth $114.87 million containing 475,000 shares. Earlier this month, the FDA granted fast track designation to Biogen Inc (NASDAQ:BIIB)’s Alzheimer treatment, Aducanumab.

Disclosure: none