PGIM Jennison Health Sciences Fund: A Differentiated Performance in Healthcare

The PGIM Jennison Health Sciences Fund has released its investor letter for the second quarter of 2024. During this period, the fund achieved a slightly underperforming performance compared to the S&P 1500 Health Care Index, which fell by 1.1%. Value-adding contributions mainly came from targeted investment decisions in the pharmaceutical, medical technology, and healthcare services and supply sectors. In contrast, decisions within the biotechnology sector weighed on overall performance. Within the reporting period, leading stock positions were highlighted, including that of the biotechnology company Amgen. The stock recorded a decline of 1.43% over one month but significantly exceeded market expectations with an annual gain of 20.62%. As of the close on October 2, 2024, Amgen's share price stood at USD 319.73 per share, corresponding to a market capitalization of USD 171.8 billion. Interestingly, Amgen is not among the 31 most popular stocks among hedge funds, although it was present in 69 hedge fund portfolios at the end of the second quarter. This indicates moderate but growing acceptance. However, the fund believes that stocks in the field of artificial intelligence offer higher growth potential and can achieve this more quickly. Especially noted in a separate report is a promising, affordable AI stock comparable to NVIDIA. Further information on leading healthcare stocks and hedge fund investment strategies can be found on the Q2 2024 investor letter overview page.