Billionaire Stanley Druckenmiller’s Duquesne Capital revealed its top 5 picks going into 2015 last week. According to the 13F Form filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the largest positions in the hedge fund’s equity portfolio at the end of 2014 consisted of Biogen Idec Inc (NASDAQ:BIIB), Illumina, Inc. (NASDAQ:ILMN), Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT), Home Depot Inc (NYSE:HD), and HDFC Bank Limited (ADR) (NYSE:HDB), the majority of which Druckenmiller was extremely bullish on during the last quarter.
Although Stanley Druckenmiller’s Duquesne Capital closed its doors to investors in 2010 and became a family office, the investment manager continues to issue 13F reports on a quarterly basis. After almost 30 years of providing his clients with high returns, Mr. Druckenmiller retired from the hedge fund business; yet the billionaire has not lost interest in putting his vast wealth to some use. According to Forbes, the investment manager’s net worth is estimated to be $2.8 billion, while his family office’s equity portfolio was valued at $1.02 billion at the end of 2014. Druckenmiller’s trading style is similar to that of George Soros, who favors top-down investments and a long/short hedging technique. Both managers made a name for themselves in 1992, when the duo gained over $1 billion in profits by shorting the British Pound.
With a stake of 359,400 shares, Biogen Idec Inc (NASDAQ:BIIB) was Mr. Druckenmiller’s top pick at the end of the fourth quarter, accounting for almost 12% of the fund’s equity portfolio. During the past quarter, Duquesne Capital increased its exposure to the company by 255,600 shares, a 246% increase in his position, after the stock had gained 19% in the first nine months of 2014. The investment is already paying off, as share prices have already grown by 15% year-to-date. Another important hedge fund betting on Biogen Idec Inc (NASDAQ:BIIB) is Donald Chiboucis‘ Columbus Circle Investors, with a stake of 1.21 million shares.
Illumina, Inc. (NASDAQ:ILMN) continues to rank as Duquesne Capital’s second largest holding, accounting for 7.4% of its equity portfolio with 410,100 shares. The investment firm entered a new position in the company during the third quarter of 2013, and the following year, the stock gained 22.4%. Furthermore, the cap life science tools manufacturer’s earnings per share have experienced a positive and upwards trend over the past two years, repeatedly beating the estimate consensus set forth by analysts. In addition to Duquesne Capital, Illumina, Inc. (NASDAQ:ILMN) is backed by Andreas Halvorsen’s Viking Global, which owns 8.19 million shares and remains bullish, despite the latest reduction to its stake in the company.
Mr. Druckenmiller’s firm disclosed ownership of 760,600 shares in Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) at the end of the last quarter after increasing its exposure to the company by 143% relative to the previous 13F filing. John A. Levin’s Levin Capital Strategies is also betting on this stock and holds a stake of 878,600 shares. Although Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) recently abandoned its expansion efforts into Canada, investors continue to remain optimistic regarding the stock, which has gained around 35% over the past year.
Billionaire Stanley Druckenmiller’s top 5 picks for the fourth quarter are completed by the holdings in Home Depot Inc (NYSE:HD) and HDFC Bank Limited (ADR) (NYSE:HDB). While the investment firm disclosed ownership of 529,100 shares of Home Depot stock, an increase of 137%, its stake in HDFC Bank amounts to 1.0 million shares. Much like Duquesne Capital, Ken Fisher’s Fisher Asset Management also has a significant stake in both companies. In fact, Fisher Asset Management is Home Depot’s as well as HDFC Bank’s largest institutional investor amongst the funds we track, with a position of 8.29 million and 5.43 million shares respectively.
Since Home Depot Inc (NYSE:HD) gained 28.5% in 2014, it is not surprising to learn that Duquesne Capital increased its stake in the company by 306,700 shares last quarter. Furthermore, retailers are expected to experience a bump in sales, as consumer spending in this area has risen due to low gas prices.
Mr. Druckenmiller’s firm added HDFC Bank Limited (ADR) (NYSE:HDB) to its equity portfolio in the third quarter of 2014 and then increased its stake in the company by 227% last quarter. Last year, the stock gained a whopping 47%, and so far this year, share prices are already up by another 15%. Apparently Duquesne Capital is confident this positive growth trajectory will persist and deliver savvy returns over the long-term.
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