David Abrams (Trades, Portfolio), founder of Abrams Capital Management, disclosed earlier this month he gained two new positions during the second quarter: TransMedics Group Inc. (TMDX, Financial) and Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings Inc. (CCO, Financial). Additionally, Abrams kept increasing his Camping World Holdings Inc. (CWH, Financial) throughout the quarter according to GuruFocus Real-Time Picks, a Premium feature.
Abrams, a protégé of Baupost leader Seth Klarman (Trades, Portfolio), oversees approximately $9 billion in assets. According to the firm’s website, Abrams Capital invests with a long-term time horizon using a fundamental, value-oriented approach.
As of quarter-end, Abrams’ $3.68 billion equity portfolio contains 19 stocks, of which two represent new positions. The top three sectors in terms of portfolio weight are health care, consumer cyclical and utilities, with weights of 24.61%, 19.29% and 17.53%.
TransMedics
Abrams purchased 3,499,859 shares of TransMedics, giving the stake 2.39% equity portfolio weight. Shares averaged $27.34 during the period from the company’s May 2 initial public offering date and June 30.
The Andover, Massachusetts-based company engages in portable ex-vivo warm perfusion and assessment of donor organs for transplantation. TransMedics develops technologies to preserve organ quality, assess organ viability prior to transplant and potentially increase the utilization of donor organs for the treatment of end-stage heart, lung and liver failure.
TransMedics said in an Aug. 7 press release that net revenues for the quarter ending June 29 were $5.7 million while cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities were $96.2 million. Strong growth in the U.S. for all three organ platforms, including higher sales in OCS Heart and OCS Liver during clinical trials, contributed to the year-over-year increase in net revenues.
Clear Channel Outdoor
Abrams disclosed a holding of 3,354,390 shares of Clear Channel Outdoor, dedicating 0.43% of his equity portfolio to the position. Shares averaged $4.79 during the period between May 2 and June 30.
According to the company’s Aug. 1 press release, Clear Channel Outdoor separated from iHeart Media Inc. (IHRT, Financial) on May 1 in connection with iHeart Media’s emergence from bankruptcy. The company received the “Clear Channel” and “Clear Channel Outdoor” trademarks in connection with the separation.
Clear Channel Outdoor reported second-quarter net revenues of $27.2 million in the Americas and $41.2 million in international markets. According to GuruFocus data, the operating margin of 9.90% outperforms 62.22% of global competitors.
2019 GuruFocus Value Conference Speaker Mario Gabelli (Trades, Portfolio) also gained a holding in Clear Channel Outdoor during the quarter.
Camping World
Abrams owned 5,108,808 shares of Camping World as of quarter-end, up 29.49% from his position as of the March quarter. He then disclosed an ownership of 5,151,918 shares according to an Aug. 16 Real-Time Pick, a slight increase to the holding as of the June quarter. Although shares averaged $12.92 during the three months from April 1 to June 30, Camping World traded at just $8.01 on Aug. 16.
The Lincolnshire, Illinois-based company provides services, protection plans, products and resources for recreational vehicle enthusiasts across the U.S. Camping World Chairman and CEO Marcus Lemonis, host of CNBC’s “The Profit,” said in an Aug. 7 press release that the company generated “record” revenue of $1.474 billion during the quarter on an all-time high 33,715 new and used RVs despite headwinds across the new RV market. Despite this, shares tumbled that day as earnings of 54 cents per share underperformed analyst estimates according to an article from The Street.
See also
Abrams’ top two holdings as of June are Celgene Corp. (CELG, Financial) and PG&E Corp. (PCG, Financial). Two of several features we offer to our Premium members are the Top-10 Holdings of Gurus and GuruFocus Real-Time Picks.
Disclosure: No positions.
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