Highlights From Viking Global’s Investor Letter: Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (BABA), Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc (REGN)

We have seen a copy of Viking Global’s third quarter investor letter. Andreas Halvorsen’s Viking Global is among the most successful long/short equity hedge funds (Stock Picks, Investor Letters). Its flagship hedge fund returned 4.1% during the third quarter, bringing its gains to 10.8% for the first 9 months of the year. Below you can read their discussion about three of their big position.

Viking Global had the biggest position in Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (NYSE:BABA) among the 700+ hedge funds we are tracking. Billionaires Dan Loeb (see his portfolio), George Soros, and Rob Citrone were also among the top 5 Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (NYSE:BABA) shareholders at the end of the third quarter. Here is what Halversen said about Alibaba in his investor letter:

“Our biggest winner for VGE was Alibaba, contributing 2.0%. When we made our initial investment in 2012, we were intrigued by the company’s dominant position in Chinese eCommerece because we believed that this rapidly expanding market would enjoy long-term secular growth. In addition, we were excited by the company’s advertising-based  revenue model and the potential for further monetization and margin expansion. Although the stock price has appreciated materially since we acquired our original investment, we remain bullish on the prospects of Alibaba, which ranked as our sixth largest position on September 30.”

Obviously Viking Global is a very large fund with its hands in a lot of pies. Biotech stock Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:REGN) is one of them.

“VLF’s best-performing long was Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, a large-cap biotechnology company. It has one of the most innovative R&D organizations and richest clinical development pipelines in the sector. Its most important revenue driver is Eylea, a treatment for retinal disorders such as wet age-related macular degeneration (a leading cause of severe vision loss in people over the age of 60). In June, Regeneron’s share price underperformed due to concerns that physicians were shifting prescriptions away from Eylea towards less costly alternatives. When our own due diligence, including extensive checks with retinal specialists, gave us confidence that such concerns were unfounded, we increased our stake in the company. The stock recovered sharply advancements in the company’s early-stage drug pipeline.”

The third stock that we will bring to your attention is another healthcare stock.