The country's best-performing funds the past three months have
been loading up medical issues, such asAlexion Pharmaceuticals (
ALXN
),Catamaran (
CTRX
),HCA Holdings (
HCA
) andAlign Technology (
ALGN
) in their latest reporting periods.
Medical stocks have been performing very well this year. Among
IBD's 197 industry groups, four medical subgroups ranked in the
top 10 as of Tuesday.
The biotech/biomed group was up almost 50% as of Tuesday.
Leading managers of top-performing funds also have been
shopping for retailers, including apparel makersLululemon
Athletica (
LULU
),Gap (GPS),Michael Kors (KOR),Chico's FAS (CHS) andFootlocker
(FL). These retailers could benefit from the upcoming holiday
season.
IBD spotted 38 funds adding Catamaran. They invested an
estimated $170 million.
Two popular Fidelity funds, the $86.7 billion Contrafund and
$44.1 billion Growth Company, owned big stakes in the firm as of
their latest reporting periods.
The Lisle, Ill.-based firm provides pharmacy benefit
management services and health care IT services. The company was
formerly called SXC Health Solutions.
Catamaran recently launched a specialty plan BriovaRX,
delivering personalized, holistic care to patients with complex
and chronic conditions, such as HIV, multiple sclerosis and
Crohn's disease.
The stock had a 2-for-1 split Tuesday. That's its second
2-for-1 split in two years.
After hitting an intraday high split-adjusted price of 52.39
on July 2, the stock has been etching a nice three-month-long
base.
The building of the right side of the base in recent weeks
showed some solid volume, indicating that big institutions also
like this stock.
Catamaran has been growing healthy double-digit earnings the
past six quarters. Revenue growth for the same periods is also
impressive.
Sell Side
Leading funds have been selling into the rally, taking profits
of top household brands, such asMacy's (M),Discover (DFS),Walt D
isney (DIS) andGeneral Elec tric (GE), in their latest reporting
periods.
Aerospace defense firmRaytheon (RTN) saw a big sell-off on
high volume the past few days.
Telecom stocksVerizon (VZ) andDirecTV (DTV) were also on top
funds' latest sell list. Both stocks sport a Relative Strength
Rating of 68.