(Yicai Global) Nov. 1 -- Chinese investment titan Hillhouse Capital Group has sold some of its holdings of contract research organizations in the third quarter amid rising stock prices.

Hillhouse Capital cut its holdings of Hangzhou-based Tigermed Consulting, Pennsylvania-headquartered Frontage Holdings, and Tianjin-based Asymchem Laboratories, based on the Asia-focused investor's third-quarter report released recently.

The VC firm sold 1.2 percent of Frontage and at least a 36 percent stake in Asymchem. Hillhouse Capital is no longer one of the top 10 shareholders of Tigermed. Already in the second quarter, the firm left the group of WuXi AppTec’s top 10 shareholders.

Hillhouse Capital has continued to sell its assets in the pharmaceutical outsourcing sector since the second half of this year due to the firms' high share prices, an analyst told Yicai Global.

The sector has been booming for years. That has caused leading firms' price-to-earnings ratios to surge. Open-access technology platform developer WuXi Biologics’ trailing P/E ratio was 145.5 times as of Oct. 29, while that of Asymchem was 105.7 times. The respective figures for Beijing-based Pharmaron was 103.1, WuXi Apptec 101.3, and Tigermed 63.3.

However, pharma is not out. Hillhouse Capital has held onto its many other equities in the field this year. In the first quarter, its biggest bet among US-listed companies was Beijing-based BeiGene, based on its quarterly report. Chinese firms listed in the States accounted for six of the VC firm's top 10 assets.

Editor: Emmi Laine, Xiao Yi