The $100 billion investment firm First Eagle Funds has grown its already significant interest in two companies: Curis Inc. (CRIS, Financial) and Vista Outdoor Inc. (VSTO, Financial), GuruFocus Real Time Picks reported.
The managers added to their positions in Vista Outdoor Inc. by 17.65% to a total of 6,928,280 shares, representing 10.86% of the company’s shares outstanding. The transaction took place on Feb. 27, a day when the stock closed trading at $43.66 per share. Year to date the shares have gained more than 15% and closed on Monday at $39.56 per share.
Vista Outdoor is a manufacturer and marketer of outdoor sports and recreational consumer goods. It spun off Alliant Techsystems Inc. (ATK, Financial) and began trading as an independent company on Feb. 10. It has a market cap of $2.52 billion and P/S ratio of 1.20.
Shortly before First Eagle’s move, on Feb. 25, Vista Outdoor’s board of directors authorized a repurchase program of its shares worth $200 million.
First Eagle also made a 17.9% increase to its holding of Curis Inc., which totals 24,008,672 shares after the transaction. First Eagle has had the company in its portfolio for more than five years, but has been purchasing more of its shares for an eight-quarter streak. As of the filing date of Feb. 27, it owns 23.3% of Curis.
A developer of drugs for the treatment of cancer, Curis Inc. has a market cap of $319.85 million; its shares were traded at around $3.10 with and P/S ratio of 28.10. Curis Inc. had an annual average earnings growth of 10.50% over the past five years.
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