Mariner Investment’s Top Healthcare Picks

#3 BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (NASDAQ:BMRN)

 – Shares held by Mariner Investment Group (as of March 31): 76,672

 – Value of Holding (as of March 31): $6.32 million

Moving on, Mariner Investment Group made use of the over 20% drop in BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (NASDAQ:BMRN)’s stock during the first quarter by boosting its stake in the company by 57%. After dropping over 50% from their peak in July last year, shares of BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (NASDAQ:BMRN) managed to bounce back in February, but have been trading a range ever since. On April 28, the company reported its fiscal 2016 first-quarter results, declaring a per share loss of $0.53 on revenue of $236.70 million versus the Street’s expectation of a per share loss of $0.85 on revenue of $240.21 million. For the same quarter of the previous financial year, BioMarin Pharmaceutical had reported a per share loss of $0.43 on revenue of $201.30 million. Following the earnings release, on April 29, analysts at Credit Suisse reiterated their ‘Buy’ rating and $114 price target on the stock. Hedge funds that reduced their stake in the company during the first quarter included Columbus Circle Investors, which brought its holding down by 17% to 221,658 shares.

#2 Celgene Corporation (NASDAQ:CELG)

 – Shares held by Mariner Investment Group (as of March 31): 66,000

 – Value of Holding (as of March 31): $6.61 million

Despite an over 16% drop in its stock during the first quarter, Celgene Corporation (NASDAQ:CELG) jumped four spots quarter-over-quarter to become Mariner Investment Group’s ninth largest equity holding at the end of March, owing to the fund increasing its stake in the company by 25% during that period. In April, Celgene Corporation (NASDAQ:CELG)’s stock rose considerably going into the company’s earnings, but has given up most of those gains after the company reported its first quarter numbers and currently trades down 16% year-to-date. While analysts had projected the company to report EPS of $1.29 on revenue of $2.59 billion for the quarter, Celgene Corporation posted EPS of $1.32 on revenue of $2.51. Despite the tumble that the stock has seen in the past few months, several analysts feel that Celgene Corporation’s stock is still expensive and given the lack of catalysts that could propel it higher, they expect it to trade in a range going forward. On April 29, analysts at Morgan Stanley reiterated their Hold’ rating and $127 price target on the stock. Russell Lucas‘ Lucas Capital Management trimmed its holding in Celgene Corporation by 4% to 22,334 shares during the January-March period.

#1 Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

– Shares held by Mariner Investment Group (as of March 31): 115,300

– Value of Holding (as of March 31): $10.59 million

Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) remained Mariner Investment Group’s top healthcare pick at the end of March. The fund increasing its stake in the company by 37% during the first quarter, helping it to jump five spots during the quarter and become Mariner Investment Group’s third largest equity holding at the end of that period. Like most healthcare stocks, Gilead Sciences, Inc. also fell heavily at the beginning of 2016, but it managed to recoup those losses and was trading flat for the year up until the company came out with its first quarter numbers. Following the earnings release, share of the company plummeted heavily and are currently trading down by 18% year-to-date. After five consecutive quarters of beating analysts estimate, the Street was again expecting Gilead Sciences to beat the consensus estimate of EPS of $3.13 on revenue of $8.08 billion, however, the company ended up missing EPS estimate by $0.10 and revenue estimate by $0.28 billion. A large part of the difference between the estimate and the actual numbers posted by the company can be attributed to the $200 million hit that Gilead Sciences took during the first quarter after a jury found it guilty of infringing on two patents held by Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) and awarded that amount to the latter. Fortunately for Gilead Sciences, just two days after it posted its results, Bloomberg reported that a Federal judge has re-opened the case amid allegations that a senior scientist who testified against the company had lied under oath. Bernard Selz‘s Selz Capital also increased its stake in the company by 16% to 150,000 shares during the first quarter.

Disclosure: None