Every quarter, many money managers have to disclose what they’ve bought and sold, via “13F” filings. Their latest moves can shine a bright light on smart stock picks.
Today, let’s look at Tocqueville Asset Management, which is a portfolio manager with a contrarian bent, believing that “the best investment results over time are achieved outside the mainstream consensus” and seeking “undervalued companies that possess long-term earnings power.”
Interesting developments
So what does Tocqueville’s latest quarterly 13F filing tell us? Here are a few interesting details:
The biggest new holdings are FedEx Corporation (NYSE:FDX) and Canadian miner Ivanplats. Other new holdings of interest include Halcon Resources Corp (NYSE:HK) and Sarepta Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:SRPT) . Oil and gas company Halcon has been growing by acquiring assets such as shale-field properties and is expected to grow by 30% annually in the next few years. Sarepta, a biotech developing the promising Duchenne muscular dystrophy drug eteplirsen, nearly tripled in a single day recently and some expect further growth. There’s little certainty, though, until or unless the drug receives FDA approval.
Among holdings in which Tocqueville increased its stake was rare-earth elements producer Molycorp Inc (NYSE:MCP) , which has been struggling in a tough environment and recently worried investors with a bigger-than-many-expected share offering and debt issuance. (Some worry about further capital needs in the near future.) The stock is down a whopping 75% over the past year,
Tocqueville reduced its stake in lots of companies, including General Electric Company (NYSE:GE) . The company’s recent fourth-quarter report featured a growing backlog of orders (hitting $210 billion), and it has been expanding in areas such as mining and natural gas infrastructure. In a recent Motley Fool Money Roundtable, our analysts discussed another huge GE asset: its financial arm.
Finally, Tocqueville’s biggest closed positions included Barrick Gold Corporation (USA) (NYSE:ABX) and Kaiser Aluminum Corp. (NASDAQ:KALU). Other closed positions of interest include Amarin Corporation plc (ADR) (NASDAQ:AMRN) , a late-stage cardiovascular-focused biotech company with a promising drug to lower triglycerides. Some bulls see its newly approved drug, Vascepa, as underappreciated while others are waiting to see how successful its launch is. There’s speculation that the company will be acquired by a big pharmaceutical company, too.
We should never blindly copy any investor’s moves, no matter how talented the investor. But it can be useful to keep an eye on what smart folks are doing. 13-F forms can be great places to find intriguing candidates for our portfolios.
The article Here’s What This $9 Billion Contrarian Has Been Buying and Selling originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Selena Maranjian.
Longtime Fool contributor Selena Maranjian, whom you can follow on Twitter, has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends FedEx. The Motley Fool owns shares of General Electric Company.
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