Here’s How Billionaire Activist Barry Rosenstein Positioned His Portfolio For Q4

#3 Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc (NASDAQ:WBA)

– Shares held (as of September 30): 13.75 million

– Total Value (as of September 30): $1.14 billion

Rosenstein’s stake in Walgreens remained unchanged during the third quarter. Last month, Walgreens Boots Alliance announced that it agreed to acquire Rite Aid Corporation (NYSE:RAD), a U.S retail pharmacy chain, for about $17.2 billion or $9.00 per share. There is some speculation that federal regulators could shutter the deal, which would create a monopoly in the U.S pharmacy business. Subject to approval, the deal is likely to close in the second half of 2016. Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc (NASDAQ:WBA) reported solid financial results for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2015, ended August 31. The company’s profit was $26 million compared to a loss of $221 million in the same quarter of last year. Furthermore, it managed to increase its quarterly sales by 49.7% to $28.5 billion. Shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc (NASDAQ:WBA) have increased by 11% year-to-date. Another investor that likes Walgreens Boots Alliance is Stephen Mandel’s Lone Pine Capital, holding 6.79 million shares as of the end of September.

#2 ConAgra Foods Inc (NYSE:CAG)

– Shares held (as of September 30): 30.57 million

– Total Value (as of September 30): $1.24 billion

ConAgra Foods Inc (NYSE:CAG) is a packaged food company, with a market cap of over $17 billion. JANA Partners was bullish on the company in the previous quarter, increasing its position by 19.03 million shares. ConAgra Foods announced that it plans to separate into two independent public businesses, with the consumer brands business being renamed Conagra Brands, while the frozen potato business will operate as Lamb Weston. The transaction, expected to be completed in the fall of 2016, will be structured as a spin-off of the Lamb Weston business, tax-free to the company and its shareholders. Shares of ConAgra Foods Inc (NYSE:CAG) are trading up by 12.82% year-to-date. In its latest 13F, Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group disclosed holding 6.40 million ConAgra Foods shares as of the end of September.

#1 QUALCOMM Inc. (NASDAQ:QCOM)

– Shares held (as of September 30): 28.55 million

– Total Value (as of September 30): $1.53 billion

QUALCOMM Inc. (NASDAQ:QCOM) is represented as JANA Partners’ top holding, with the fund reducing its position in the company slightly during the third quarter, by 268,838 shares. Qualcomm is a developer of advanced wireless technologies, products and services. On Tuesday, the company confirmed that it is facing an antitrust probe in South Korea. In a statement, Qualcomm said that it recently received the Korea Fair Trade Commission’s staff-generated Case Examiner’s Report (ER), which commences a process that affords the company the ability to respond to allegations and defend itself. The ER alleges, among other things, that Qualcomm does not properly negotiate aspects of its licenses, and that its practice of licensing its patents only at the device level and requiring that its chip customers be licensed to its intellectual property violate Korean competition law. The ER proposes remedies including modifications to certain business practices and monetary penalties, according to the company. QUALCOMM Inc. (NASDAQ:QCOM)’s stock has lost 35.42% year-to-date. SPO Advisory Corp, run by John H. Scully, owned 9.44 million shares of QUALCOMM at the end of the third quarter.

Disclosure: None