Glenn J. Krevlin’s Glenhill Advisors has disclosed a large new position in Pier 1 Imports Inc (NYSE:PIR), the Fort Worth, Texas-based importer of furniture and home décor products. The new position, which is passive by nature, amasses 4.64 million shares, which account for 5.2% of the company’s common shares.
The date of event which required the filing of the 13G was March 10, one month after Pier 1 Imports Inc (NYSE:PIR) was forced to lower its earnings guidance for Fiscal 2015. On February 10, Pier 1 announced expected earnings per diluted share between $0.80 and $0.83 for FY 2015, which was down from its previous guidance of $0.95 to $1.05. The updated guidance battered the company’s shares on February 11, as they tumbled by more than 24% to $12.84.
While it’s not known exactly when the shares have been purchased, it would not be surprising if Glenhill took advantage of that big dip to acquire its new position. Shares have rebounded more than 10% since then, though Pier 1 Imports Inc (NYSE:PIR) hasn’t completely managed to avoid controversy since; it was announced in late February that the company was under investigation by The Shareholders Foundation for possible securities violations related to the revised guidance and subsequent plunge of shares. The investigation seeks to uncover whether Pier 1 purposefully misled investors concerning its operations and future prospects.
Let’s move on to three of Glenhill Advisor’s other top new positions disclosed in its latest 13F filing. First among them is Allscripts Healthcare Solutions Inc (NASDAQ:MDRX), in which Glenhill opened a position comprised of 3.03 million shares, valued at $38.71 million. Shares of the healthcare solutions provider were also highly sought after by its largest shareholder among the funds we track, Clifton S. Robbins’ Blue Harbour Group. The fund increased its activist stake in Allscripts Healthcare Solutions Inc (NASDAQ:MDRX) to 12.64 million shares early in the fourth quarter, and further increased that to 14.42 million shares by the end of the year.
However, another of Allscripts Healthcare Solutions Inc (NASDAQ:MDRX)’s former largest shareholders, Healthcor Management LP, completely closed its position during the last quarter, selling off its entire stake of 7.21 million shares. It had begun that process at the end of the third quarter, having sold 2.79 million of its previously owned 10.0 million shares. Healthcor Management had a contentious history with Allscripts that dated back to 2012 when they criticized the termination of former Chairman Phil Pead, and demanded that CEO Greg Tullman step down. Tullman resigned later that year.
