Ken Fisher’s Top 5 Healthcare Stock Picks

1. Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Fisher Asset Management’s Stake Value: $1,987,678,000

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 87

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) is one of the leading pharmaceutical companies in the world. It develops treatments and medical therapies for cancer, diabetes, and other disorders. On August 8, Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) reported a Q2 revenue of $8.31 billion and a non-GAAP EPS of $2.11, beating the market consensus by $700 million and $0.11, respectively. At the end of Q2 2023, Ken Fisher revealed a position worth roughly $2 billion in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY), making it his largest healthcare holding. 

According to Insider Monkey’s second quarter database, 87 hedge funds were bullish on Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY). During the preceding quarter, 72 hedge funds were invested in the company. Rajiv Jain’s GQG Partners held one of the largest stakes in the company, with 3.1 million shares worth $1.48 billion. 

Baron Health Care Fund said this about Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) in its second quarter 2023 investor letter:

“Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) is a global pharmaceutical company developing and marketing drugs in oncology, diabetes, Alzheimers, immunology, and other diseases. Shares climbed due to continued investor excitement around novel weight loss drugs in the GLP-1 class, including Lilly’s Mounjaro. Given demand that is orders of magnitude more than supply, the full potential of the GLP-1 class of drugs remains unclear, with sales projections eclipsing $100 billion. This number would set a new industry record by a large margin. Drug development in this space is understandably fierce, and as recently as late June, Eli Lilly revealed new data from its diabetes/obesity pipeline assets that will further enhance the value proposition offered to patients. We retain conviction.

In pharmaceuticals, our largest investment continues to be in Eli Lilly and Company. Lilly’s new diabetes drug Mounjaro is on track to be FDA approved for obesity in 2023. At a medical conference in June, Lilly announced Phase 2 clinical data for a next-generation obesity drug called retatrutide, which showed the drug achieved up to 17.5% mean weight loss at 24 weeks in adults with obesity and up to 24.2% mean weight loss at 48 weeks. Lilly also announced Phase 2 clinical data showing its once daily oral drug orforglipron achieved up to 14.7% mean weight loss at 36 weeks in adults with obesity. The results from these pipeline obesity medicines confirmed Lilly’s status as a market leader in the diabetes and obesity category. Also during the quarter, Lilly announced that its drug Donanemab slowed cognitive and functional decline in a Phase 3 study in people with early symptomatic Alzheimer’s disease. We continue to think the company should be able to grow revenue and earnings at attractive rates through the end of the decade and beyond.”

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