Frank Sands is the CEO and CIO of Sands Capital Management, an investment management firm focused on investing in quality growth businesses throughout the world. He manages a portfolio composed of 53 stocks and the following are the stakes the guru increased during the third quarter.
He increased his stake in Illumina Inc. (ILMN) by 63.44% with an impact of 0.83% on the portfolio. The current stake is 2.13% of his total assets and 2.96% of the company’s outstanding shares.
GuruFocus gives Illumina a profitability and growth rating of 7 out of 10 with strong returns of ROE 4.67% and ROA 3.71% that are outperforming 91% of the companies in the Global Medical Instruments & Supplies industry. Financial strength has a rating of 8 out of 10, with cash to debt of 1.30 that is slightly below industry median of 1.42.
The company provides sequencing-and array-based solutions for genetic analysis. Its products enabled researchers to explore DNA, helping them create the first map of gene variations associated with health, disease, and drug response. During the third quarter, revenue increased 14% year-over-year and non-GAAP EPS grew 4% year over year despite a significant tax headwind from the prior year period.
Sands is the largest shareholder among the gurus, followed by Steve Mandel (Trades, Portfolio) with 2.47%, Vanguard Health Care Fund (Trades, Portfolio) with 2.07% and PRIMECAP Management (Trades, Portfolio) with 1.49%.
He increased his stake in Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. (BABA) by 11.18% with an impact of 0.42% on the portfolio. The current stake is 3.87% of his total assets and 0.94% of the company’s outstanding shares.
GuruFocus gives Alibaba a profitability and growth rating of 6 out of 10 with strong returns of ROE 4.67% and ROA 3.71% that are outperforming 95% of the companies in the Global Specialty Retail industry. Financial strength has a rating of 7 out of 10, with cash to debt of 1.99 that is above the industry median of 0.71.
The company is engaged in online and mobile commerce through products, services and technology that enable businesses to operate efficiently and extend their reach to sell to consumers and businesses in China and internationally. The third quarter had very strong results, with revenue increasing by 32% year-over-year.
Sands is the largest shareholder followed by Jeremy Grantham (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.6%, PRIMECAP Management (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.4% and Manning & Napier Advisors Inc. with 0.14%.
Sands increased his stake in Baidu Inc. (BIDU) by 11.18% with an impact of 0.42% on the portfolio. The current stake is 4.14% of his total assets and 3.12% of the company’s outstanding shares.
GuruFocus gives Baidu a profitability and growth rating of 7 out of 10 with strong returns of ROE 4.67% and ROA 3.71% that are outperforming 77% of the companies in the Global Internet Content & Information industry. Financial strength has a rating of 7 out of 10, with cash to debt of 1.87 that is far below industry median of 13.91.
The company is a Chinese language Internet search provider. It provides a platform for businesses to reach customers and offers its products and services to users through Baidu.com free of charge.
Sands is the largest shareholder among the gurus, followed by Dodge & Cox with 2.37% of shares outstanding, David Herro (Trades, Portfolio) with 1.35% and First Pacific Advisors (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.44%.
Sands increased his stake in Palo Alto Networks Inc. (PANW) by 35.07% with an impact of 0.39% on the portfolio. The current stake is 1.5% of his total assets and 3.64% of the company’s outstanding shares.
GuruFocus gives Palo Alto Networks a profitability and growth rating of 4 out of 10 with negative returns of ROE 34.79% and ROA 9.58% that are underperforming 87% of the companies in the Global Communication Equipment industry. Financial strength has a rating of 7 out of 10 and cash to debt of 1.55 that is below industry median of 1.96.
The company offers an enterprise network security platform that allows enterprises, service providers, and government entities to secure their networks and safely enable applications running on their networks. For the fourth quarter, the company expects revenues to have year-over-year growth between 41% and 44%.
Sands is the company’s largest shareholder among the gurus, followed by Jim Simons (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.73%, David Swensen (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.04% and John Burbank (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.04%.
Sands increased his stake in Whole Foods Market Inc. (WFM) by 26.29% with an impact of 0.36% on the portfolio. The current stake is 1.75% of his total assets and 5.82% of the company’s outstanding shares.
GuruFocus gives Whole Foods Market a profitability and growth rating of 8 out of 10 with strong returns of ROE 13.64% and ROA 9.06% that are outperforming 78% of the companies in the Global Grocery Stores industry. Financial strength has a rating of 7 out of 10, with cash to debt of 6.03 that is far above the industry median of 0.49.
The company is a retailer of natural and organic foods and a certified organic grocer.Â
Sands is the largest shareholder among the gurus, followed by Jim Simons (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.55% of shares outstanding, Joel Greenblatt (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.49% and Ray Dalio (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.17%.
Sands increased his stake in Kansas City Southern Inc. (KSU) by 26.29% with an impact of 0.36% on the portfolio.Â
GuruFocus gives Kansas City Southern a profitability and growth rating of 8 out of 10 with strong returns of ROE 12.77% and ROA 6.03% that are outperforming 73% of the companies in the Global Railroads industry. Financial strength has a rating of 5 out of 10 and cash to debt of 0.05 that is above industry median of 0.34.
The company is engaged in the freight rail transportation business operating through a single coordinated rail network. It operates domestic and international rail operations in North America focused on the growing north/south freight corridor connecting key commercial and industrial markets in the central U.S. with industrial cities in Mexico. During the third quarter, revenue had a decrease of 7% compared to the third quarter of 2014 and operating income was 4% lower than a year ago.
The company’s largest shareholder among the gurus is Andreas Halvorsen (Trades, Portfolio) with 2.83% of outstanding shares, followed by Sands with 2.6%, Lee Ainslie (Trades, Portfolio) with 2.18% and Steve Mandel (Trades, Portfolio) with 1.28%.
Sands increased his stake in Workday Inc. (WDAY) by 14.83% with an impact of 0.15% on the portfolio. The current stake is 1.19% of his total assets and 3.19% of the company’s outstanding shares.
GuruFocus gives Workday a profitability and growth rating of 4 out of 10 with strong returns of ROE 4.67% and ROA 3.71% that are underperforming 81% of the companies in the Global Software - Application industry. Financial strength has a rating of 7 out of 10, with cash to debt of 373 that is below industry median of 7.48.
The company is a provider of enterprise cloud applications for finance and human resources. It delivers financial management, human capital management and analytics applications designed for the companies, educational institutions, and government agencies.
John Griffin (Trades, Portfolio) holds 0.76% of outstanding shares, followed by Stanley Druckenmiller (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.23% and Paul Tudor Jones (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.21%.
