How Billionaire Dan Loeb’s Top New Picks Performed in Q3?

Third Point added 2 million shares of Monsanto Company (NYSE:MON) during the second quarter, the market value of which at the end of the quarter stood at $206.82 million. The number of hedge funds tracked by us that were long Monsanto at the end of the second surged to 87 from 51 during the second quarter, while the total value of their holdings jumped to $5.32 billion from $2.45 billion. The increase in popularity can be attributed to discussions about a potential takeover and a couple of weeks ago (after months of pursuit) Monsanto Company (NYSE:MON) finally agreed to be acquired by Bayer for $128 per share. The deal is valued at approximately $66 billion including debt. Even though several analysts upgraded Monsanto’s stock following the announcement, some of them, including Goldman Sachs and Bernstein, cautioned investors about the possibility of certain developments that might affect the transaction. Monsanto’s stock inched down by around 1.2% in the third quarter and is only 4% in the green year-to-date, despite the jump it registered back in May when Bayer approached it with its first offer.

Another addition to Third Point’s portfolio in the June quarter was Sherwin-Williams Co. (NYSE:SHW), in which the fund held a 700,000-share stake valued at $205.57 million. A total of 45 of the funds we track held $2.17 billion worth of Sherwin-Williams shares at the end of the second quarter. The stock lost nearly 6% between July and September, plunging in July on the back of weaker-than-expected EPS and revenue posted for the second quarter. Sherwin-Williams is scheduled to release its third-quarter results on October 27 and analysts anticipate earnings of $4.33 per share on revenue of $3.29 billion.

Third Point added 950,000 shares of Shire Plc (NASDAQ:SHPG) to its equity portfolio during the second quarter. The stake was worth $174.88 million at the end of June. There were 64 funds in our database that held shares of Shire at the end of the June quarter, compared to 49 funds a quarter earlier. The stock advanced by 5% during the third quarter, but is still over 4% in the red year-to-date. Recently. Shire has announced that a U.S. District court ruled in its favor in a patent infringement case against generic competitor Cadila Healthcare Ltd. The lawsuit is related to U.S. Patent No. 6,773,720 covering ulcerative colitis med Lialda (mesalamine). In other news, Shire also recently has got an approval from the FDA for its CUVITRU [Immune Globulin Subcutaneous (Human) 20% Solution] for the treatment of adult and pediatric patients at least two years old with primary immunodeficiency (PI).

Disclosure: none