In this article, we take a look at the 10 pharmaceutical stocks to buy according to Brandon Haley’s Holocene Advisors. You can skip our detailed analysis of Holocene Advisors’ 13F portfolio and go directly to 5 Pharmaceutical Stocks to Buy According to Brandon Haley’s Holocene Advisors.
The hedge fund Holocene Advisors was founded and is managed by Brandon Haley. Holocene Advisors is a beta-neutral hedge fund with a portfolio value of over $18 billion. The investment strategy employed at the hedge fund is of sector-diversified long-short equity.
The healthcare sector takes up a significant portion of Holocene Advisors’ portfolio. The three most prominent healthcare companies that Holocene Advisors is invested in, include Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISRG), AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) and Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) .
Holocene Advisors has 98,134 shares in Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISRG) as of the Q3 of 2021. It is a multinational company based in California, US. It develops and markets robotics solutions for surgery and is most notable for its product called the da Vinci Surgical System, a console operated system surgeons use to perform gynecologic and cardiac procedures.
When it comes to AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV), Holocene Advisors owns 1.8 million shares in the company as of Q3 of 2021. AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) is a global biotechnology and pharmaceutical company based in Illinois, US. On November 23, Societe Generale analyst Justin Smith upgraded AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) to ‘Buy’ rating with a price target of $172.
Let’s move down to the 10 pharmaceutical stocks to buy according to Brandon Haley’s Holocene Advisors.
Our Methodology
We picked the top 10 pharmaceutical stocks from Holocene’s Q3 portfolio.
10. Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)
Holocene Advisors’ Stake Value: $42.3 million
Percentage of Holocene Advisors’ 13F Portfolio: 0.22%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 62
Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) is an American multinational pharmaceutical company based out of Indiana, US. The company was famous for mass-producing the polio vaccine when it was first developed. It is known primarily for developing medications for mental health conditions, with Prozac being one of the most popular antidepressants developed by the company.
Holocene Advisors owns over 180,000 shares in the company making up 0.22% of their portfolio while the hedge fund, Fisher Asset Management is the leading stakeholder in the company with over 6 million shares.
On November 18, BMO Capital analyst Evan Seigerman initiated coverage of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) with an ‘Outperform’ rating and set the price target at $31. The analyst said that the company’s “superior” top and bottom-line growth warrants the multiple premium. The company posted Q3 revenue of $6.75 billion that beat analyst predictions by $136.6 million. The EPS for the company in Q3 was at $1.94.
9. Kura Oncology, Inc. (NASDAQ:KURA)
Holocene Advisors’ Stake Value: $50.8 million
Percentage of Holocene Advisors’ 13F Portfolio: 0.27%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 35
Kura Oncology, Inc. (NASDAQ:KURA) is a biotechnology, therapeutics, and pharmaceutical company based in California, US. The company is focused on developing targeted therapies to curb cancerous cell growth in mutated cellular pathways.
On June 24, Kura Oncology, Inc. (NASDAQ:KURA) publicly announced that the first patient has been dosed in the Phase 1b portion of KOMET-001, in the two-part clinical trial of the company’s oral and selective menin inhibitor, KO-539, in patients with refractory acute myeloid leukemia.
Holocene Advisors owns over 2.7 million shares in Kura Oncology, Inc. (NASDAQ:KURA) after a 5% increase in stake in the third quarter of 2021. However, in the Q3 of 2021, the hedge fund VenBio Select Advisor remains the largest stakeholder in the company with 4 million shares.
The company’s stock is one of the most significant healthcare companies that Holocene Advisors is invested in alongside Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISRG), AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV), and Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)
8. Insmed Incorporated (NASDAQ:INSM)
Holocene Advisors’ Stake Value: $60.2 million
Percentage of Holocene Advisors’ 13F Portfolio: 0.32%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 18
Insmed Incorporated (NASDAQ:INSM) is a global pharmaceutical company based in New Jersey, US. The company is primarily focused on discovering and developing therapies and drugs for rare diseases. Holocene Advisors holds over 2.1 million shares in the company. They, however, decreased their stake in the company by 13% in Q3. The leading stakeholder as of the third quarter in 2021 is the hedge fund Palo Alto Investors with over 6 million shares.
On October 19, Morgan Stanley analyst Jeffrey Hung assumed coverage of Insmed with an ‘Overweight’ rating on the shares and set a price target of $52, down from $56. Hung believes that the company’s shares would primarily be driven by U.S. sales of Arikayce in the short term.
7. AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)
Holocene Advisors’ Stake Value: $69 million
Percentage of Holocene Advisors’ 13F Portfolio: 0.37%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 41
AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) is another very prominent pharmaceutical company on the list. It particularly gained prominence after its contributions to developing a Covid-19 vaccine, popularly known as Oxford-AstraZeneca. The company’s stock jumped in value after WHO gave a greenlight for AstraZeneca vaccine to be used for emergencies in the earlier days when it was developed.
On November 16, AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) and its partners have released the supply of two billion doses of their vaccine to over 170 countries across the globe continent in the last 11 months and roughly two-thirds of these doses have gone to lower-middle-income countries, including more than 175 million doses delivered to 130 countries via the COVAX facility. AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) posted a Q3 revenue of $9.8 billion with an EPS of $0.54 missing analyst estimates by -$0.37. The company’s stock is prominent in the list of 10 pharmaceutical stocks to buy according to Brandon Haley’s Holocene Advisors.
6. Alkermes PLC (NASDAQ:ALKS)
Holocene Advisors’ Stake Value: $78.7 million
Percentage of Holocene Advisors’ 13F Portfolio: 0.42%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 35
Alkermes PLC (NASDAQ:ALKS) is another prominent pharmaceutical company on the list. Its stock is among the most significant in the list of 10 pharmaceutical stocks to buy according to Brandon Haley’s Holocene Advisors.
Alkermes PLC (NASDAQ:ALKS) is primarily focused on neuroscience for treatments of addiction and other mental health conditions. On November 11, Mizuho analyst Vamil Divan decreased the price target on Alkermes PLC (NASDAQ:ALKS) to $33 from $36 and kept a ‘Neutral’ rating on the shares.
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Disclosure: None. 10 Pharmaceutical Stocks to Buy According to Brandon Haley’s Holocene Advisors is originally published on Insider Monkey.
