Sio Capital Remains Bullish On These Stocks Despite Weak Performance

In Amgen, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)‘s case, it’s worth mentioning that Sio Capital initiated a stake in the company twice last year. It added a 77,700-share stake during the first quarter, sold it during the third and then bought 16,430 shares worth $2.40 million during the last three months of the year. The fund took into account the company’s valuation and said that it underperformed its peers at the beginning of 2016, as investors were concerned about the possibility of generic competition for each of Amgen, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)’s products. However, Sio bet on the stock considering that many threats wouldn’t materialize and profited as the stock gained ground. The fund again added the stock to its equity portfolio in November after the company had said that it would be “less aggressive taking price increases”, which led to a drop below the level that the fund considered reasonable. There were 60 funds tracked by us holding shares of Amgen, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) at the end of 2017, up by one over the quarter.

ChemoCentryx Inc (NASDAQ:CCXI) is one of Sio Capital’s speculative investments. During the fourth quarter, the fund cut its stake by 47% to 325,250 shares worth $2.41 million. ChemoCentryx Inc (NASDAQ:CCXI) is engaged in the development of acaccopan for the treatment of autoimmune conditions through blocking the activity of C5a peptide which dampens inflammation. The drug should be effective in treating vasculatis, which is currently an unmet medical need. The fund pointed out that the clinical data is promising and that the company already sold European rights to Galenica, which will result in reduced costs. The number of funds from our database bullish on ChemoCentryx Inc (NASDAQ:CCXI) remained unchanged at 11 during the fourth quarter, while the total value of their holdings appreciated to $73.50 million from $60.45 million and represented roughly 21% of the company’s stock.

In Pfenex Inc (NYSEMKT:PFNX), Sio Capital liquidated its position, by having sold 64,556 shares it had held at the end of September. The investor is still optimistic about Pfenex Inc (NYSEMKT:PFNX)’s work in the development of biologic drugs, but opted to close the position “in light of the delays and the potential need for cash.” Nevertheless, there were nine funds in our database that held some 9% of Pfenex Inc (NYSEMKT:PFNX)’s outstanding stock at the end of 2016, up by one fund over the quarter.

Disclosure: None