George Soros's family fund bought $24.3 million worth of SodaStream shares.
Soros Fund Management LLC, the family office of billionaire George Soros, bought SodaStream International Ltd. (Nasdaq: SODA) and increased its stake in Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (NYSE: TEVA; TASE: TEVA) to 5.8% in the first quarter of 2014. Teva is Soros Fund's single largest investment.
Soros Fund bought $24.3 million worth of SodaStream shares, amounting to 0.3% of the fund's $9.3 billion US stock portfolio, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Thursday.
According to "Bloomberg", "SodaStream is heading for its worst annual performance since its initial public offering in November 2010 as US sales of its home soda machines have failed to pick up following a lackluster holiday season. CEO Daniel Birnbaum said "challenges" in the Americas offset "double-digit" sales growth in Western Europe and the Asia Pacific region in the first three months of the year, a trend that should continue into the second quarter, according to a May 14 conference call with investors." The share is traded at a p/e multiple of 17, compared with its historical average of 20.5, according to data compiled by "Bloomberg".
Teva became the Soros Fund's largest holding in late 2013. The share price has risen 25% this year, since the US Supreme Court agreed to hear an appeal that may delay generic competition to Copaxone until 2015, and by 32% in the first quarter.