George Soros is a PFEr!
Pfizer Topped New Investments From Soros Fund In 2nd Quarter
ÿ
08/21/98
ÿ
WASHINGTON -(Dow Jones)- Soros Fund Management, the money-management firm of George Soros, concentrated its largest new stock purchases in three major industries during the second quarter: pharmaceutical, retail and telecommunications.
Soros is a noted investor whose interests include social issues. Soros Fund Management pocketed more than $1 billion in September 1992 when speculators forced Britain to pull the pound out of the European exchange rate mechanism.
According to Federal Filings, the money manager's largest new position by market value in the quarter was Pfizer Inc. (PFE). Soros purchased 4.6 million shares valued at almost $500 million as of June 30. Shares of Pfizer, recently in the news for its anti-impotence drug Viagra, traded between $96.38 and $121.75 a share during the second quarter.
Forest Laboratories Inc. (FRX) and Mylan Laboratories Inc. (MYL) shared in the pharmaceutical limelight in the second quarter. Soros acquired 1.2 million shares of Forest and 1.3 million shares of Mylan in the period.
The apparel segment was represented by a 1.6 million-share stake in Nike Inc. (NKE). Retailers J.C. Penney Co. (JCP) and Autozone Inc. (AZO) also attracted the firm's attention, with new stakes of 800,000 and 2.1 million shares, respectively.
Texas-based J.C. Penney, posted second-quarter net income of
$27 million, or eight cents per share, 70% lower than its fiscal first
quarter results, amid relatively strong performances by other
retailers.
The company attributed the fall to a $70 million charge taken in connection with liquidating inventory and combining accounting systems at its Eckerd Drug Store unit, which it acquired 18 months ago.
On the telecommunications front, Soros took new positions in Ascend Communications Inc. (ASND) and Comcast Corp. Class A Special shares (CMCSK), purchasing 820,200 and 1 million shares respectively.
Ascend Communications Inc., which sells computer-networking gear, confirmed on Aug. 3 that it has reached a definitive deal to acquire Stratus Computer Inc. in a stock swap valued by the companies at $822 million. Ascend is buying the Marlboro, Mass., company because it as its eye on the fast-growing Stratus division that sells specialized computers to telephone carriers for use in their voice networks.
Comcast Corp. (CMCSA, CMCSK) reported earlier this month that is likely to make a tender offer to shareholders of Jones Intercable Inc. (JOINA, JOIN) after it closes its recently announced purchase of a controlling interest in Jones, expected in the first quarter of next year. If successful, the offer would allow the Philadelphia cable television company to fold Jones into its operations, creating a single company.
Soros stuck to his interest in telecommunications companies by adding significantly to stakes in WorldCom Inc., (WCOM), 3.6 million shares) and DSC Communications Corp., (DIGI), 1.9 million shares.
Other companies the firm reported buying in the second quarter include Kansas City Southern Industries Inc.(KSU), 1 million shares, and United HealthCare Corp. (UNH), 1.3 million shares.
Soros liquidated stakes in a number of high-profile companies during the second quarter. Its sale of 5 million shares of Pharmacia & Upjohn Inc. (PNU) ranked as the firm's top elimination by market value.
The firm also disposed of stakes in Dow Jones & Co. (DJ), 2.55 million shares, after originating the stake in the fourth quarter of 1997. Shares in medical device maker, Guidant Corp. (GDT), 1.48 million shares were also sold, along with stakes in NationsBank Corp. (NB), 1 million shares, Gap Inc.(GPS), 1.66 million shares, Ford Motor Co. (F), 1.11 million shares, and Morgan Stanley Dean Witter & Co. (MWD), 976,300 shares.
Other notable liquidations included Walt Disney Co. (DIS), 87,500 shares, AT&T Corp. (T), 15,800 shares, and Columbia/HCA Healthcare Corp., (COL), 650,000 shares. |
