Activist Jeffrey Ubben’s Picks Blow Away S&P 500 Index in Q1

ValueAct’s next largest position was in Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl Inc (NYSE:VRX). At the end of 2014, the firm held 19.39 million shares at a value of $2.77 billion. The position accounted for 17.3% of ValueAct’s 13F portfolio. Valeant also has a strong outlook from analysts, with a consensus ‘Buy’ rating. Recently, Deutsche Bank increased its price target on the stock to $200 with a ‘Hold’ rating, while JP Morgan reiterated an ‘Overweight’ rating with a price target of $240. Valeant also has a number of major investors among its shareholders including Andreas Halvorsen’s Viking Global and Stephen Mandel’s Lone Pine Capital. Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square also recently disclosed a 5.7% position. Shares of Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl Inc (NYSE:VRX) surged 38.7% in the first quarter of 2015.

Last November, oilfield services giant Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL) made headlines by agreeing to acquire Baker Hughes Incorporated (NYSE:BHI) for $34.6 billion. But as oil declined so did Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL)’s shares, as the stock dropped from the mid $60’s to the low $50’s. Ubben saw value in both companies and added them to ValueAct’s portfolio as both stocks appeared as new positions according to his latest 13F filing for the fourth quarter of 2014.  At the start of 2015, ValueAct had nearly 15.0 million shares valued at $840.91 million, but that position was updated in a January SEC filing to 21.95 million shares. In Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL), ValueAct disclosed a position as of December 31st of 20.95 million shares with a value of $821.80 million. This accounted for 5.1% of its 13F portfolio. Baker Hughes Incorporated (NYSE:BHI)’s stock gained 13.7% for the first quarter of 2015 while Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL) shares rose 12%.

ValueAct has been involved in Agrium Inc. (USA) (NYSE:AGU) since the third quarter of 2014, and shares jumped shortly afterwards when Wall Street first got word that ValueAct had taken an activist position in the stock. ValueAct is Agrium Inc. (USA) (NYSE:AGU)’s largest shareholder among the funds we track. At the beginning of 2015, the firm reported a holding of 8.19 million shares valued at $776.22 million. D.E. Shaw’s fund D E Shaw is a distant second with a 1.71 million share holding valued at $161.64 million. The stock rose 10.8% during the first quarter of 2015.

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