Founded in 2011, David Lamond‘s Lamond Capital Partners filed its first 13F form in 2012, when it held nearly $110 million in assets under management. As of April this year, its assets had swelled to $252.26 million while the market value of the fund’s equity portfolio stood at $91.52 million at the end of the first quarter. According to Lamond’s latest 13F filing, its top picks included Ocular Therapeutix Inc (NASDAQ:OCUL), GW Pharmaceuticals PLC- ADR (NASDAQ:GWPH), Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD), and Infoblox Inc (NYSE:BLOX). All in all they represented more than 60% of the fund’s equity portfolio.
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Technology and healthcare are the only two sectors that Lamond Capital’s equity holdings belonged to in the first quarter, with their respective contributions being 44% and 56%. While the technology sector has returned nearly 10% so far this year, healthcare has performed even better, appreciating by about 11%, making them two of the best sectors to have been focused on. It’s not surprising then that Lamond ranked as the 20th-best performing fund in our database during the first quarter, with weighted average returns of 16.5% from its 12 long positions in companies with a market cap of at least $1 billion. The long/short fund invests primarily in U.S-listed companies. However, investments in emerging markets might also surface in its portfolio every now and then. Lamond also uses leverage to magnify its positions.
Digging into Lamond Capital’s equity portfolio, we come first to Ocular Therapeutix Inc (NASDAQ:OCUL), which represented the fund’s largest equity holding with about 420,200 shares valued at $17.64 million. After the acquisition of some 345,900 shares during the first quarter, the stake represented 19.28% of the fund’s portfolio value. The $456.66 million pharmaceutical company that offers treatments related to dermatological conditions and advanced tissue care has depreciated by nearly 10% year-to-date. Ocular Therapeutix Inc (NASDAQ:OCUL)’s fourth quarter financial results beat estimates, but the failure of its lead product, OTX-DP (dexamethasone sustained release, 0.4 mg) in the second Phase 3 trial didn’t sit well with investors, leading to shares crumbling by over 40% in the weeks following its early April announcement. Hal Mintz’s Sabby Capital held a small position in Ocular as of the end of 2014.
With 171,496 shares valued at $15.63 million, GW Pharmaceuticals PLC- ADR (NASDAQ:GWPH) was Lamond Capital’s second largest healthcare pick. The fund increased its exposure to the $2.4 billion developer of cannabinoid medicines by 27% during the first quarter. GW Pharmaceuticals PLC- ADR (NASDAQ:GWPH)’s stock has fared far better than Ocular Therapeutix Inc (NASDAQ:OCUL) so far this year to say the least, rising by a staggering 65.77%. The company commenced the Phase 3 study of its orphan drug, Epidiolex, which treats a rare form of childhood epilepsy. Among other investors of the company is Ken Griffin‘s managed futures fund, Citadel Investment Group, which held about 12,700 shares of GW Pharmaceuticals PLC- ADR (NASDAQ:GWPH), according to its latest filing.
The third spot is taken by Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) with Lamond owning 120,000 shares valued at $15.63 million. Lamond Capital decreased its stake in the $153.91 billion healthcare company, which focuses on the treatment of HIV and liver diseases including hepatitis B and C, by 11% during the first quarter. Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) has been in the fund’s portfolio since the second quarter of 2014. Its stake was reduced in the fourth quarter as well. Recently, it was reported that Sovaldi, the company’s renowned treatment for chronic hepatitis C infection has been launched in India by Mylan NV (NASDAQ:MYL). Aside from Lamond, other prominent investors of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) include Samuel Isaly‘s healthcare focused fund, Orbimed Advisors and Cliff Asness‘ AQR Capital Management.
Finally, we move on to Lamond’s bet in the technology sector, Infoblox Inc (NYSE:BLOX). The fund held some 429,900 shares valued at $10.26 million of the $1.40 billion network controller company. Although Infoblox Inc (NYSE:BLOX) has delivered impressive returns to the tune of 21.33% this year, the fund slashed its stake in the company by 71% during the first quarter. The current holding represents about 11.21% of the fund’s portfolio value. Within our database, Eric Bannasch’s Cadian Capital is the largest stockholder of Infoblox Inc (NYSE:BLOX) with some 5.14 million shares according to its latest filing.
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