The Top 3 Stock Picks at the World's Greatest Hedge Fund
A reclusive firm is often considered the world's most successful hedge fund. That company is Renaissance Technologies. This company's prominence is largely due to its Medallion Fund, which generated an annualized return of 39% after fees from 1988 to 2021. Its founder, Jim Simons, became known as one of the pioneers of quantitative and algorithmic trading. Simons unfortunately passed away in May 2024, but Renaissance lives on.
By looking at the company's 13F Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing, anyone can see the company's top long equity holdings. However, the list of stock holdings has a 45-day lag, and the SEC does not necessarily review the holdings for accuracy. All this is to say that investors should take 13F filings with a grain of salt. Still, looking at this information can provide valuable insight into what investments one of the world's most renowned money managers has felt very strongly about.
Novo Nordisk: Could Renaissance Pick Up More Shares in this Long-Time Holding?
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At the end of 2024, Renaissance's third-largest long equity holding was the pharmaceutical company, Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE: NVO). It was the firm's second-largest equity holding in Q4 2013, and has remained at or near the top of the list almost every quarter since.
The company really burst onto the scene after 2017 with its breakthrough weight loss and diabetes drug semaglutide. Novo generated a total return of around 480% from the end of 2017 to its peak in June 2024. However, since then, shares are down by a massive 56% as of the April 29 close.
From Q2 2024 to Q4 2024, Renaissance reduced its holdings of Novo, but not by a massive amount. Its number of shares held fell by around 9%. Now, Novo shares are trading at the same level they were back at the end of 2022. At the end of 2024, Renaissance still had a stake in Novo of $715 million, indicating that it had strong conviction in this name at the time. Given the stock's extensive decline in 2025, it is possible Renaissance's next 13F could reveal that it upped its stake.
United Therapeutics: Renaissance Maintains Huge Position in this Rare Disease Drug Company
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At the end of 2024, Renaissance had a stake in United Therapeutics (NASDAQ: UTHR) worth around $737 million. Renaissance's shares held in United Therapeutics first eclipsed 3 million back in Q2 2019. Since then, the stock has provided a total return of around 285% as of the April 29 close.
Renaissance has clearly taken gains along the way, with its shares held sitting at around 2.1 million as of Q4 2024. However, since hitting a peak of 3.7 million shares held in Q2 2020, the overall value of the position has increased by around 63%.
Today, the company has six medications approved by the Food and Drug Administration. The company's main treatments focus on a rare condition called pulmonary arterial hypertension. Its biggest seller, Tyvaso, generated sales of over $1.6 billion in 2024, growing 31% from 2023. Overall, Renaissance's still large position in United likely stems from a belief that the company will be able to continue growing sales of these treatments at a brisk pace and can continue developing new medicines for rare conditions.
Palantir: Meteoric Rise Gives It the Top Spot Despite Renaissance's Big Sale
[content-module:CompanyOverview|NASDAQ:PLTR]
As of Q4 2024, Renaissance's largest holding is Palantir Technologies (NASDAQ: PLTR), a stock that has done extraordinarily well over the last several years. Since the end of 2022, shares have been up by over 1,700 % as of the close of April 29. Over the course of 2022, Renaissance massively increased its stake in Palantir, growing its number of shares held by over three times. At the end of Q4 2024, the total value of Renaissance's position was over $1.7 billion.
However, Renaissance flashed a red flag on Palantir in Q4, reducing its number of shares held by over 40% from Q3 2024. This may not have been the best decision, considering that Palantir stock is up over 200% since the end of Q3.
No one knows at what point in Q4 they sold these shares, so Renaissance may have captured a lot of the gain. Still, it's hard to blame the firm for the sale, considering that Palantir trades for a forward price-to-earnings multiple of over 200x. Additionally, Wall Street analysts tracked by MarketBeat see big-time downside potential.
What Renaissance's Portfolio Says About Market Trends in 2025
Renaissance's 13F filings offer a rare glimpse into the holdings of a firm widely viewed as the gold standard in hedge fund investing. From long-standing commitments to Novo Nordisk, to strong belief in United Therapeutics, to a cautious trim of the soaring Palantir, the data highlights where one of the sharpest quantitative firms is placing its biggest equity bets.
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