HealthInvest Partners AB’s Top Pick and Favorite Non-Healthcare Stocks

HealthInvest Partners AB is a Stockholm-based fund management company co-founded by Carl Bennet and Anders Hallberg in September 2006. The Swedish investment firm’s approach focuses on finding companies with low valuations and potential catalysts to drive shareholder value. Although the investment community in the United States knows very little about HealthInvest Partners AB, the asset management firm has generated strong returns consistently since its inception.

The firm’s HealthInvest Value Fund generated a net-of-fees return of 7% in 2015, whereas the average hedge fund vehicle recorded disturbing losses last year. The HealthInvest Value Fund also gained an impressive 33% in 2014 and 35% in 2013. More importantly, the fund has not registered a down year in the past seven years or so, generating a return of 22% per annum. The payment structure used by HealthInvest Partners AB also differs from the 2-and-20 payment structure commonly used within the hedge fund industry, with the Stockholm-based investment firm charging a 1% annual fee and a 20% performance fee on returns above 5%.

While roughly 69% of the asset manager’s equity holdings comprise healthcare-related investments, which we’ve covered in the past, HealthInvest Partners invests beyond the healthcare sector as well. Hence, Insider Monkey decided to have a look at the firm’s favorite four non-healthcare stocks (although they aren’t technically healthcare stocks, it should be noted that they do have a strong affinity to the healthcare sector), as well as its top overall stock pick (a healthcare stock).

At Insider Monkey, we track around 765 hedge funds and institutional investors. Through extensive backtests, we have determined that imitating some of the stocks that these investors are collectively bullish on can help retail investors generate double digits of alpha per year. The key is to focus on the small-cap picks of these funds, which are usually less followed by the broader market and allow for larger price inefficiencies (see more details).

Pressmaster/Shutterstock.com

#5. FEI Company (NASDAQ:FEIC)

 – Shares Owned by HealthInvest Partners AB (as of June 30): 118,609

 – Value of HealthInvest Partners AB’s Holding (as of June 30): $12.68 Million

HealthInvest Partners AB cut its stake in FEI Company (NASDAQ:FEIC) by 50% during the second quarter of 2016, to 118,609 shares. The reduced stake was valued at $12.68 million on June 30 and accounted for 5.8% of the value of the firm’s equity portfolio. In late May, the supplier of scientific instruments and related services for nanoscale applications and solutions agreed to be acquired by lab and medical equipment company Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) for $4.2 billion in cash. Under the terms of the agreement, FEIC shareholders are set to receive $107.50 per share in cash at closing. FEI Company will join the acquirer’s analytical instruments segment, expanding its portfolio of offerings in the life sciences and biopharmaceutical spaces. Thermo Fisher anticipates realizing total synergies of roughly $80 million within three years from the deal’s closing, including $55 million of cost synergies. The $4.2 billion deal is expected to be completed by early 2017. Ken Fisher’s Fisher Asset Management was the owner of 470,779 shares of FEI Company (NASDAQ:FEIC) on June 30.

#4. AmerisourceBergen Corp. (NYSE:ABC)

 – Shares Owned by HealthInvest Partners AB (as of June 30): 160,000

 – Value of HealthInvest Partners AB’s Holding (as of June 30): $12.69 Million

The Stockholm-based asset manager acquired a new stake of 160,000 shares of AmerisourceBergen Corp. (NYSE:ABC) during the June quarter, which was worth $12.69 million at the end of June. The global pharmaceutical sourcing and distribution services company has seen the value of its stock plunge by 18% since the beginning of the year. AmerisourceBergen recorded revenue of $72.41 billion for the six months that ended March 31, up by an impressive 9.3% year-over-year. The increase was partially driven by the acquisition of animal health distribution company MWI Veterinary Supply in February 2015. The company anticipates fiscal year 2016 revenue to increase by roughly 8%. Meanwhile, AmerisourceBergen recorded net income of $934.5 million for the six-month period ending March 31, compared to a net loss of $713.3 million posted a year earlier. James Crichton’s Hitchwood Capital Management was the owner of 5.80 million shares of AmerisourceBergen Corp. (NYSE:ABC) at the end of March.

The second page of this article will reveal two other non-healthcare stocks favored by HealthInvest Partners, as well as the firm’s largest equity holding as of June 30.

#3. Triple-S Management Corp. (NYSE:GTS)

 – Shares Owned by HealthInvest Partners AB (as of June 30): 532,876

 – Value of HealthInvest Partners AB’s Holding (as of June 30): $13.02 Million

The fund management company co-founded by Carl Bennet and Anders Hallberg increased its holding in Triple-S Management Corp. (NYSE:GTS) by 5% during the April-to-June period, ending the second quarter with 532,876 shares. The upped position was worth $13.02 million and constituted 6.0% of the value of the firm’s U.S. equity portfolio. Triple-S Management, one of the most significant players in the managed care industry in Puerto Rico, has seen its shares gain 7% thus far in 2016. The company also participates in the life insurance market and property insurance market. Triple-S Management’s net consolidated premiums earned for the first quarter of 2016 grew by 38.7% year-over-year to $738.5 million, reflecting the change in the Medicaid delivery model from an Administrative Services Only (ASO) model to a risk-based one. Richard S. Pzena’s Pzena Investment Management had 1.42 million shares of Triple-S Management Corp. (NYSE:GTS) among its holdings on March 31.

#2. GNC Holdings Inc. (NYSE:GNC)

 – Shares Owned by HealthInvest Partners AB (as of June 30): 681,955

 – Value of HealthInvest Partners AB’s Holding (as of June 30): $16.57 Million

HealthInvest Partners AB had 681,955 shares of GNC Holdings Inc. (NYSE:GNC) in its portfolio at the end of June, 95,000 shares more than it did at the end of March. The increased position was valued at $16.57 million on June 30. The health and nutrition products retailer has had 34% of its market value erased since the beginning of 2016, as the company suspended its guidance for the year and its CEO stepped down after a failed turnaround attempt. The fresh resignation of CEO Michael G. Archbold and the appointment of Director Robert F. Moran as interim CEO suggests that the nutritional-supplement specialist is struggling to turn its business around. GNC Holdings saw its second quarter same-store sales decrease by 3.7% year-over-year in domestic company-owned stores. The company sells products through a worldwide network of more than 9,000 locations, but the fast-increasing power of e-commerce seems to have put massive pressure on GNC’s performance. Glenn Russell Dubin’s Highbridge Capital Management owned roughly 738,000 shares of GNC Holdings Inc. (NYSE:GNC) at the end of the first quarter.

Top Stock Pick: Anika Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:ANIK)

 – Shares Owned by HealthInvest Partners AB (as of June 30): 412,588

 – Value of HealthInvest Partners AB’s Holding (as of June 30): $22.14 Million

Anika Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:ANIK) was the largest equity holding in the Swedish investment firm’s pool of holdings at the end of the June quarter, accounting for 10.2% of the value of the firm’s equity portfolio. HealthInvest Partners AB trimmed its Anika stake by 15% during the second quarter to 412,588 shares, which was valued at $22.14 million on June 30. The shares of the integrated orthopedic medicines company are 28% in the green year-to-date. The company’s orthopedic medicine portfolio comprises Orthovisc and Monivisc, two products designed to alleviate pain and restore joint function by replenishing depleted hyaluronic acid. In early June, Anika Therapeutics announced the commercial launch of Cingal, the company’s third-generation viscosupplement, in the European Union. Cingal was already available in Canada and the company continues to pursue regulatory approval of the product in the United States as well. The company’s second quarter revenue jumped by 16% year-over-year to $26.6 million, after registering a year-over-year growth rate of 44% in the first quarter. Ken Fisher’s Fisher Asset Management has 57,719 shares of Anika Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:ANIK) in its portfolio as of June 30.

Disclosure: None