Ra Capital Management Initiates Stake in Furiex Pharmaceuticals Inc (FURX) After the Stock Jumped

Peter Kolchinsky‘s Ra Capital Management, has just disclosed initiating a 7.2% stake in Furiex Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:FURX). The position amasses 750,000 shares and is passive by nature. The value of the holding amounts to $84.23 million, at the current price of the company’s stock.

Peter Kolchinsky

Furiex Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:FURX) went on the radars just yesterday, when it’s stock jumped by a whooping 130%. In our newsletter back in December, we recommended to buy shares of Furiex, based on the recommendation from Michael Castor.

The significant boost gained by Furiex Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:FURX)’s stock came amid positive results regarding the company’s two pivotal Phase III clinical trials, which evaluated the safety of eluxadoline in the cure of diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrom. The results of the studies met the endpoints agreed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the European Medicines Agency.

Even though Ra Capital acquired shares of Furiex Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:FURX) after the price of the stock surged, we can assume that the fund still expects it to gain some ground. Aside from Ra, which now holds a significant stake in Furiex, another shareholder is Chuck Royce‘s Royce & Associates, which in the third quarter of last year held 232,900 shares of the company.

Ra Capital is a fund focused on the healthcare sector, investing in companies with perspectives to deliver promising drugs and technologies. Last month, the fund reported selling 300,000 shares of Derma Sciences Inc (NASDAQ:DSCI), reducing its stake to 1.69 million shares. Also, the fund has been bullish on Achillion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACHN) raising the stake to 23.4 million shares.

Disclosure: none

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