Billionaire Jeffrey Talpins Just Fled From These 5 Healthcare Stocks

1. Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR)

Former Value of Element Capital Management‘s 13F Position: $47.2 million

Number of Hedge Fund Shareholders: 87

Topping the list of healthcare stocks that Jeffrey Talpins was fleeing from in Q1 is Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR). Talpins’ fund bought 143,552 shares of DHR during Q4, ranking the stock as its 11^th-largest 13F position. It sold out of the stake entirely during the first quarter. Danaher has steadily grown in popularity among hedge funds over the last three-plus years, with smart money ownership of DHR rising by 71% during that time.

Danaher was recently upgraded to ‘Outperform’ from ‘Sector Perform’ by RBC Capital analyst Deane Dray, who believes the market is overreacting to the tough Covid comps the company will face this year. The analyst has a $310 price target on the stock, up from $299.

While Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR)’s slowing Covid testing sales growth is weighing on the company’s overall growth, its core businesses are performing quite well, particularly when it comes to the company’s monoclonal antibodies pipeline, which has grown by 50% over the last five years.

The Cooper Investors Global Equities Fund is confident that Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR) will rebound from its Q1 weakness, having this to say about the company in its Q1 2022 investor letter:

“This combination of attributes was not in favour during a quarter where the market rotated into larger, more traditional index heavyweights that, while growing more slowly and generating lower returns on capital, typically trade on lower headline multiples. In Healthcare for example, we saw portfolio holdings Danaher fall 10-15% in the quarter. Given the relative business quality and growth prospects for a life sciences capital allocator champion like Danaher versus a large diversified pharma company, we think this period of underperformance is likely more a blip than a trend.”

For more on the latest trades made by some of the biggest hedge fund managers in the world, check out 10 Stocks to Buy According to BlueSpruce Investments and 10 Best Staffing Company Stocks To Invest In.

Disclosure: None.

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