Esperion Therapeutics Inc (ESPR), Cempra Inc (CEMP), Zeltiq Aesthetics Inc (ZLTQ): Aisling Capital’s Winning Plays in Small-Cap Healthcare Stocks

Without any further ado, let’s see which companies represent Aisling’s two other largest holdings in terms of value. On the second spot, after Esperion Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:ESPR) is Cempra Inc (NASDAQ:CEMP), an $1.80 billion clinical-stage pharmaceutical company that is focused on developing differentiated antibiotics for the acute care. The fund disclosed ownership of 3.29 million shares of the company, valued at $77.42 million. The stock surged by over 300% in the last six months and the value of the Aisling’s stake surged from $35.33 million disclosed initially as of the end of June (the number of shares remained unchanged). Other shareholders of Cempra Inc (NASDAQ:CEMP include James A. Silverman’s Opaleye Management and Kevin Kotler‘s Broadfin Capital, which held 504,800 shares and 284,600 shares respectively. However, Broadfin cut its stake by 71% during the fourth quarter and it currently amasses 0.58% of the fund’s equity portfolio, while in Opaleye’s equity portfolio the holding in Cempra Inc (NASDAQ:CEMP amasses 6% of value.

Aisling is also bullish on Zeltiq Aesthetics Inc (NASDAQ:ZLTQ), of which it holds almost 2.60 million shares, valued at $72.50 million. Similar to Esperion and Cempra, Aisling added Zeltiq to its equity portfolio during the second quarter of 2014. Meanwhile, the stock of the $1.30 billion medical technology company more than doubled in value since the end of June. Zeltiq Aesthetics Inc (NASDAQ:ZLTQ) currently markets one product, the CoolSculpting System, which is designed to reduce stubborn fat bulges. The company posted strong results for the last year, with revenue up by 56% on the year to $174.5 million and a net income of $0.04 per share, versus a loss of $0.53 per share in 2013. In addition, Zeltiq Aesthetics Inc (NASDAQ:ZLTQ) raised its revenue guidance for 2015, expecting sales between $230 and $235 million. Steve Cohen‘s Point72 Asset Management is another shareholder of the company, which surged its position by 105% during the last three months of 2014 to 1.30 million shares.

Disclosure: none