Elliott Management founder Paul Singer (Trades, Portfolio) established 15 new positions during the second quarter, of which three were in technology companies. He bought NXP Semiconductors NV (NXPI, Financial), Gigamon Inc. (GIMO, Financial) and Athenahealth Inc. (ATHN, Financial).
Singer, a well-known activist investor, manages a portfolio of 78 stocks valued at $15.9 billion. Technology stocks currently compose 21.3% of his overall holdings.
NXP Semiconductors
In his largest transaction of the quarter, Singer purchased 12.4 million shares of NXP Semiconductors for an average price of $107.12 per share, giving it 8.53% portfolio space. He previously exited the stock in the first quarter.
The semiconductor manufacturer has a market cap of $37.95 billion; its shares were trading around $112.06 on Monday with a price-earnings (P/E) ratio of 19.65, a price-book (P/B) ratio of 3.02 and a price-sales (P/S) ratio of 4.23.
The Peter Lynch chart below shows the stock is trading above its fair value.
The company, which is headquartered in the Netherlands, reported its second-quarter results on Aug. 3. It posted revenue of $2.2 billion, down 7% year over year. The GAAP gross margin was 49.2%, and the GAAP operating margin was 2.3%.
GuruFocus ranked the company’s financial strength 6 of 10 and its profitability and growth 7 of 10.
With his purchase, Singer became the company’s largest guru shareholder with 3.66% of outstanding shares. A total of 14 gurus own the stock.
Gigamon
Singer bought 2.6 million shares of Gigamon for an average price of $37.72 per share, expanding the portfolio 0.65%.
The cybersecurity and network visibility software company has a market cap of $1.53 billion; its shares were trading around $40.95 on Monday with a P/E ratio of 682.5, a P/B ratio of 5.25 and a P/S ratio of 5.01.
According to the Peter Lynch chart below, the stock is trading above its fair value.
The California-based company reported its performance for the second quarter on July 27. It posted revenue of $69.1 million, down from $75.1 million in the prior-year quarter. The net loss for the quarter was $7.3 million, or 20 cents per share, a decrease from net income of $34 million, or 91 cents per share, in the year-ago quarter.
GuruFocus ranked the company’s financial strength 9 of 10 and its profitability and growth 7 of 10.
With his purchase, Singer became the company’s largest shareholder among the gurus with 7.03% of outstanding shares. Steven Cohen (Trades, Portfolio), Leon Cooperman (Trades, Portfolio), John Hussman (Trades, Portfolio), Chuck Royce (Trades, Portfolio) and First Eagle Investment (Trades, Portfolio) are also shareholders.
Athenahealth
Singer purchased 375,000 shares of Athenahealth for an average price of $124.82 per share. The trade had an impact of 0.33% on the portfolio.
The health care IT services company has a market cap of $5.59 billion; its shares were trading around $139.52 on Monday with a P/E ratio of 175.08, a P/B ratio of 7.8 and a P/S ratio of 4.88.
Based on the Peter Lynch chart below, the stock appears to be trading well above its fair value.
The Massachusetts-based company reported its second-quarter results on July 20. It posted revenue of $301.1 million, which grew 15% from $261.9 million in the year-ago quarter, and GAAP earnings per share of 24 cents.
GuruFocus ranked the company’s financial strength 7 of 10 and its profitability and growth 8 of 10.
Among the gurus invested in Athenahealth, the Vanguard Health Care Fund (Trades, Portfolio) has the largest position with 6.2% of outstanding shares. Frank Sands (Trades, Portfolio), Ruane Cunniff (Trades, Portfolio), Royce and George Soros (Trades, Portfolio) also own the stock.
Other positions Singer established during the quarter include Peabody Energy Corp. (BTU, Financial), Nord Anglia Education Inc. (NORD, Financial), Wyndham Worldwide Corp. (WYN, Financial), Vantage Energy Acquisition Corp. (VEACU, Financial), Ares Capital Corp. (ARCC, Financial), Fairmound Santrol Holdings Inc. (FMSA, Financial), Nomad Foods Ltd. (NOMD, Financial) and several others.
Disclosure: I do not own any stocks mentioned.
