Andreas Halvorsen (Trades, Portfolio), founding partner and chief investment officer of Viking Global Investors, disclosed this week his top five new buys for the second quarter were Adaptive Biotechnologies Corp. (ADPT, Financial), Boeing Co. (BA, Financial), BridgeBio Pharma Inc. (BBIO, Financial), Uber Technologies Inc. (UBER, Financial) and Monster Beverage Corp. (MNST, Financial).
The Norwegian-born protégé of Tiger Management founder Julian Robertson (Trades, Portfolio) established Viking in 1999. According to its website, the Greenwich, Connecticut-based firm employs a research intensive, long-term focused investment approach. Viking invests in companies using fundamental analysis, i.e., based on a thorough assessment of business models, management quality and cyclical trends.
Viking mentioned on its website that it manages approximately $30 billion in capital. As of quarter-end, the firm’s $22.29 billion equity portfolio contains 59 stocks, of which 19 represent new holdings. The top three sectors in terms of weight are health care, technology and consumer cyclical, with weights of 37.56%, 25.72% and 21.19%.
Adaptive Biotechnologies
Halvorsen purchased 38,406,607 shares of Adaptive Biotechnologies, giving the stake 8.32% weight in the equity portfolio. Shares averaged $44.30 during the period between the company’s June 27 initial public offering date and June 30.
The Seattle-based biotech company said this week it had $423 million in cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities as of quarter-end. GuruFocus lists the positive investing sign of no long-term debt, suggesting good financial strength.
Other gurus that established a holding in Adaptive Biotech include Ron Baron (Trades, Portfolio), Steven Cohen (Trades, Portfolio) and Paul Tudor Jones (Trades, Portfolio).
Boeing
Halvorsen purchased 2,777,120 shares of Boeing, giving the position 4.54% equity portfolio weight. Shares averaged $364.73 during the quarter.
Shares of the Chicago-based aircraft manufacturer tumbled on July 24 as the company reported a high net loss due to ongoing troubles with the 737 Max. Although GuruFocus ranks the company’s profitability 7 out of 10, the website also lists several warning signs, which include decelerating revenue growth, increasing long-term debt and operating losses within the past three years. Additionally, Boeing’s 4.5-star predictability rank is on watch, suggesting a possible downgrade.
BridgeBio Pharma
Halvorsen purchased 26,620,991 shares of BridgeBio Pharma, giving the holding 3.22% equity portfolio weight. According to GuruFocus Real-time Picks, a Premium feature, the guru made the trade on June 27, the day of BridgeBio Pharma’s IPO. Shares traded for $27.55 on June 27 and averaged $27.26 during the period from June 27 to June 30.
The Palo Alto, California-based biotech company said in its Aug. 14 quarterly report that the company had $298.3 billion in cash and cash equivalents, of which $112.4 million were held in BridgeBio and $131.4 million were held in the company’s subsidiary, Eidos Therapeutics Inc. (EIDX, Financial). According to GuruFocus, BridgeBio Pharma has cash-to-debt ratio of 6.80 and debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, both outperforming just over 45% of global competitors.
Uber
Halvorsen purchased 13,368,682 shares of Uber, giving the stake 2.78% equity portfolio weight. Shares averaged $42.42 during the period between the company’s May 8 IPO and June 30.
Several other “Tiger Cubs” also purchased shares of Uber, including Philippe Laffont (Trades, Portfolio), Chase Coleman (Trades, Portfolio)’s Tiger Global Management, Steve Mandel (Trades, Portfolio)’s Lone Pine Capital and Lee Ainslie (Trades, Portfolio)’s Maverick Capital.
Monster Beverage
Halvorsen purchased 8,851,947 shares of Monster Beverage, giving the position 2.54% equity portfolio weight. Shares averaged $60.23 during the quarter.
The Corona, California-based company develops and markets energy drinks. GuruFocus ranks the company’s financial strength 9.2 out of 10 and profitability 8 out of 10 on several positive investing signs, which include no long-term debt, a strong Piotroski F-score of 8, a 3.5-star business predictability rank and operating margins that are outperforming 94.44% of global competitors.
Disclosure: No positions.
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