A Look at Visium Asset Management’s Top Picks Amid Loud Insider Trading Case

#2. Allergan plc (NYSE:AGN)

– Shares owned by Visium Asset Management as of March 31: 989,910

– Value of Visium Asset Management’s holding as of March 31: $268.57 Million

The multi-billion-dollar hedge fund cut its position in Allergan plc (NYSE:AGN) by 105,775 shares during the first three months of 2016 to 989,910 shares. The reduced stake was valued at $268.57 million at the end of the first quarter and made up 4.6% of the hedge fund’s entire portfolio. On the last day of May, feared activist investor Carl Icahn of Icahn Capital LP announced in a statement on his website that his fund acquired a “large position” in the maker of wrinkle-injection Botox, saying that he and his team “are very supportive of CEO Brent Saunders”. While the actual size of the stake is not known to the general public just yet, Mr. Icahn’s investment comes two months after the termination of the planned $160 billion inversion deal between Allergan and Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) due to new tax inversion rules imposed by the U.S. government. Allergan shares are 23% in the red year-to-date. Dan Loeb’s Third Point LLC was the owner of exactly 5.00 million shares of Allergan plc (NYSE:AGN) at the end of March.

#1. Laboratory Corp. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH)

– Shares owned by Visium Asset Management as of March 31: 2.39 Million

– Value of Visium Asset Management’s holding as of March 31: $280.35 Million

Laboratory Corp. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) was the largest equity holding in Visium Asset Management’s portfolio at the end of March, accounting for 4.8% of the portfolio value. The New York-based asset manager reduced its stake in the company by 370,011 shares during the first quarter to 2.39 million shares, which were worth $280.35 million on March 31. The shares of the world’s leading healthcare diagnostics company are up 1% so far in 2016, thanks to a gain of 9% in the past three months. Earlier this month, analysts at Credit Suisse raised their price target on LabCorp to $143 from $135 while maintaining the ‘Outperform’ rating on the stock, citing higher-than-anticipated synergies from the acquisition of Covance Inc. completed in early 2015. Covance operates as the company’s drug development business. Some investors have been previously worried that the healthcare diagnostics company may be vulnerable to declining fees for laboratory services reimbursed by Medicare, but those worries seem to have faded away. Larry Robbins’ Glenview Capital owned 5.46 million shares of Laboratory Corp. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) on March 31.

Disclosure: None