In this article, we discuss Viking Global's performance, AUM, and 10 long-term stock picks. To skip the detailed analysis, performance history, and investment philosophy of Andreas Halvorsen’s Viking Global, go directly to Viking Global's 5 Long-Term Stock Picks.
Andreas Halvorsen is the co-founder of Viking Global and is currently the CEO of the firm. He is one of the most successful Tiger Cubs. Tiger Cubs are mentees of the late Julian Robertson who formed hedge funds of their own. According to Insider Monkey, Andreas Halvorsen is the 20th most successful hedge fund manager in the world with an accumulated net worth of nearly $6 billion since the inception of Viking Global. Viking Global is one of the best hedge funds to work for.
Education and Career
Andreas Halvorsen was born in 1961. He received his Economics degree from Williams College, Massachusetts in 1986 and one faculty member, Jack McDonald said, “He was one of our brightest students ever.” He later completed his MBA at Stanford University Graduate School of Business in 1990. After finishing his studies, he briefly worked at JP Morgan and later joined Julian Robertson’s Tiger Management Corporation in 1992. In 1999, Halvorsen formed Viking Global along with two other Tiger Cubs, David Ott, and Brian Olson. As of July 13, 2023, Andreas Halvorsen is worth $5.9 billion.
Viking Global Hedge Fund Performance
Halvorsen’s Connecticut-based firm makes short-term and long-term investments that are research-intensive and use “thoughtful risk-taking”. Healthcare stocks take the highest percentage of Viking Global’s portfolio followed by the tech segment and financial stocks take the third spot in the hedge fund’s portfolio. While defining his investment strategy, Andreas Halvorsen said:
“We are stock pickers. We believe that our thoughtful analysis and disciplined valuation over time yield a diversified portfolio of longs and shorts whose stock price developments will deviate from each other and provide a profitable spread.”
Since 2014, Viking Global uses Transaction Cost Analysis (TCA) system created by its software development team. The system measures the cost of trading, helping the firm’s traders to become more efficient.
In 2017, Viking Global returned $8 billion to its investors to “reset to a smaller size,” as the company’s chief investment officer, Daniel Sundheim, decided to leave. Within the next three years, the hedge fund managed to grow its capital back to its pre-return level.
In the last decade, Viking Global has gained nearly 77%. The firm posted a 4.5% loss in 2021 while S&P 500 gained over 27% in the year. It was the firm’s fourth loss since inception and was its worst year on record. Halvorsen said that he “underestimated the ongoing impact of Covid,” and misjudged the normalization of consumer spending in 2021. In 2022, Viking Global posted a loss of 3% which can be attributed to the rough macroeconomic conditions due to the rising interest rates and inflation which also affected several other hedge funds. However, the last 12 months have been quite bright for the firm, during which it has gained 21.12%.
As of the first quarter of 2023, Viking Global manages over $38 billion of capital in public and private investments. According to its Q1 13F filing, the firm had $21.3 billion in managed 13F securities up from nearly $20 billion in the previous quarter. The firm added 20 new stocks to its portfolio including Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ:LULU) and The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW), and sold out of 18 stocks including Uber Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:UBER) and Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMD). Viking Global’s top three stock picks include Visa Inc. (NYSE:V), McKesson Corporation (NYSE:MCK), and UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH). You can also check out Viking Global’s top 15 stock picks.
Viking Global's Performance, AUM, and Long-Term Stock Picks
Ole Andreas Halvorsen of Viking Global
Our Methodology
For this article, we chose the 10 longest-held stock positions of Andreas Halvorsen’s Viking Global. The holding history record for each position was taken from Viking Global’s data provided by Insider Monkey. We listed the stocks in ascending order of their value in the hedge fund’s 13F portfolio at the end of Q1 2023.
Viking Global's Performance, AUM, and Long-Term Stock Picks
Percentage of Viking Global’s Portfolio as of Q1 2023: 0.26%
Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE:BSX) is an American healthcare company that develops medical devices primarily for minimally invasive medical procedures. The company was quite popular among billionaire hedge funds in the first quarter of 2023 with 17 billionaire investors bullish on Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE:BSX)’s stock.
Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE:BSX) has been in Viking Global’s investment portfolio since the third quarter of 2018. In Q1 2023, the firm held over 1.136 million of the company shares worth $56.878 million, covering 0.26% of the hedge fund’s portfolio. In the same quarter, Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE:BSX) stock was held by 65 hedge funds and Citadel Investment Group was the leading shareholder with 15 million shares worth over $751 million.
Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE:BSX) is expected to hold its second quarter 2023 conference call on July 27 to discuss its quarterly results which will be posted earlier on the same day.
Visa Inc. (NYSE:V), McKesson Corporation (NYSE:MCK), and UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) are some of the most prominent stocks in Viking Global’s portfolio along with Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE:BSX).
Here is what Artisan Partners specifically said about Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE:BSX) in its Q2 2022 investor letter:
“We took advantage of Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE:BSX)’s share price pullback during the quarter. We believe the company is well-positioned to benefit from an expected return of elective medical procedures and several innovative product profit cycles in the periods ahead. Meanwhile, the company’s health care end market could prove relatively resilient in a recession scenario.”
Percentage of Viking Global’s Portfolio as of Q1 2023: 0.27%
Guardant Health, Inc. (NASDAQ:GH) is an American diagnostics and research company headquartered in Palo Alto, California. Viking Global has held a position in the company stock since the third quarter of 2019. In the first quarter of 2023, Guardant Health, Inc. (NASDAQ:GH) represented 0.27% of the hedge fund’s portfolio with approximately 2.54 million shares, valued at $59.51 million.
On July 5, Guardant Health, Inc. (NASDAQ:GH) announced that it has received a national reimbursement approval for its Guardant360® CDx liquid biopsy test for comprehensive genomic profiling (CGP) from the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW) to diagnose patients with advanced solid tumor cancers.
On July 4, JP Morgan assumed coverage of Guardant Health, Inc. (NASDAQ:GH) with an Overweight rating and a $65 price target.
“Guardant Health, Inc. (NASDAQ:GH) shares were weak following the release of the pivotal Eclipse trial in over 20,000 patients to evaluate performance of its blood-based test, Shield, for detecting colorectal cancer (CRC) in average-risk adults. Sensitivity was 83%, marginally below investor expectations of 85%. Detection of advanced adenomas (AA) came in at 13% which was lower than the 20% update that took the stock down previously. We believe, as does the company, that the results are sufficient to gain FDA approval for the minimally invasive blood screening test and to capture a meaningful share of the 49 million average-risk adults who are recommended for screening and yet are still not screened.”
Percentage of Viking Global’s portfolio as of Q1 2023: 0.37%
Catalent, Inc. (NYSE:CTLT) is an American multinational pharmaceutical company headquartered in New Jersey. The company specializes in delivery technologies, biopharmaceuticals, gene therapies, and consumer health.
Viking Global initiated a position in Catalent, Inc. (NYSE:CTLT) in the first quarter of 2018 with over 1.5 million shares. In that quarter, the average share price of Catalent, Inc. (NYSE:CTLT) was $42.54 per share. In the first quarter of 2023, the hedge fund held over 1.2 million shares of the company worth $78.9 million, representing 0.37% of Viking Global’s investment portfolio. The average share price of Catalent, Inc. (NYSE:CTLT) in Q1 2023 was $61.79.
In Q1 2023, Catalent, Inc. (NYSE:CTLT)’s shares were held by 42 hedge funds at a combined value of $1.19 billion, up from 31 hedge funds with a total stake value of $734.588 million in Q4 2022.
“Catalent, Inc. (NYSE:CTLT), a pharmaceutical contract development and manufacturing organization, appreciated amid positive momentum within the company’s Biologics segment, a renewed focus on improving efficiencies, and rumblings that the company may be acquired. We maintain a position, as we believe the long-term value creation opportunity for the company remains intact, driven by favorable outsourcing trends and the company’s competitive position in biologics, particularly within the company’s cell and gene therapy sub-segments.”
Percentage of Viking Global’s Portfolio as of Q1 2023: 0.74%
Molina Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:MOH) offers government-sponsored healthcare like Medicaid and Medicare to the citizens of the US. It is one of the biggest health insurance companies in the US. Viking Global started its position in the company in the third quarter of 2019. Previously, the hedge fund also held Molina Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:MOH)’s stock in the third quarter of 2015 and later from Q2 to Q4 of 2017.
On June 30, the company announced that it will acquire Bright Health Group, Inc. (NYSE:BHG)’s subsidiary CA Health Plans, comprising Brand New Day and Central Health Plan of California for $510 million.
On July 7, JP Morgan analyst Calvin Sternick lowered the price target on Molina Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:MOH)’s stock from $348 to $341 while keeping an Overweight rating on its shares. The firm’s price target shows a 16.9% upside to the company’s stock price of $291.7 as of July 12.
Molina Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:MOH) saw positive hedge fund sentiment in the first quarter of 2023 as it was held by 41 hedge funds in Q1, compared to 38 funds in the previous quarter.
Scout Investments mentioned Molina Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:MOH) in its third-quarter 2022 investor letter. Here is what it said:
“Molina Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:MOH) also performed well as sentiment toward health maintenance organizations improved, both as a relatively defensive investment during uncertain times, and as the bear case on the stock was partially debunked with an extension of expanded enrollment for government health insurance programs.”
Percentage of Viking Global’s Portfolio as of Q1 2023: 1.24%
Adaptive Biotechnologies Corporation (NASDAQ:ADPT) is a Seattle-based biotech company that designs, manufactures, and sells diagnostic and treatment equipment to its clients in the US.
According to Insider Monkey’s database, Viking Global was the biggest shareholder of Adaptive Biotechnologies Corporation (NASDAQ:ADPT) in Q1 2023 with 29 million shares worth $264.844 million, making up 1.24% of the fund’s portfolio. Meanwhile, Catherine D. Wood’s ARK Investment Management bought nearly 1.25 million shares of the company between May 10 and July 10, 2023. Viking Global initiated its position in Adaptive Biotechnologies Corporation (NASDAQ:ADPT) in the second quarter of 2019.
In the last three months, five Wall Street analysts have covered Adaptive Biotechnologies Corporation (NASDAQ:ADPT) stock. Four analysts keep a Buy or Outperform rating on the company stock. The average analyst price target for the company stands at $14 which shows an 84.9% upside to the company’s stock price of $7.57 as of the market close on July 12.
Adaptive Biotechnologies Corporation (NASDAQ:ADPT) is one of the most significant stock picks of Viking Global, along the likes of Visa Inc. (NYSE:V), McKesson Corporation (NYSE:MCK), and UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH).
