Two Healthcare-Focused Funds Buy More Shares Of 2 Promising Companies, While Activist Cashes Out Of IT Company

You don’t necessarily need millions of dollars to invest like an activist investor such as Carl Icahn or Bill Ackman. Extensive research has concluded that activist targets tend to greatly outperform stock market benchmarks, which is one of the primary reasons that a high number of individual investors track activist campaigns. Activist investors piling up more than 5% of a company’s outstanding common stock and planning to push for changes at the company in question must submit a Schedule 13D filing with the SEC within ten days following the acquisition of those shares. With that in mind, the following article will examine and discuss three 13D forms filed by several hedge funds monitored by Insider Monkey.

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In a freshly-amended 13D filing with the SEC, Samuel Isaly’s Orbimed Advisors reported owning 1.70 million shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND), accounting for 6.78% of the company’s outstanding stock. This compares with the 1.45 million-share position revealed in its first (and latest) 13D filing on the biopharmaceutical company, which was submitted with the SEC at the beginning of the year. The clinical-stage biotechnology company that utilizes its TransCon technology to develop products that treat unmet medical needs has seen its stock decline by 10% since its initial public offering that took place at the end of January. Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) raised $108 million by offering to the public 6.0 million shares at an IPO price of $18. The company’s lead product candidate, TransCon hGH, aims to treat growth hormone deficiency, and is believed to have great potential should it get approved. Ascendis plans to initiate a Pivotal Phase III trial in pediatric growth hormone deficient patients in mid-2016. The worldwide sales from the currently commercialized hGH products climbed to over $3 billion in 2013, according to Medtrack.

Nevertheless, the biotech stock lost its charm within the hedge fund industry in the third quarter, as the number of smart money investors with positions in the company decreased to 13 from 19. The value of their investments dropped to $91.22 million from $109.74 million quarter-over-quarter, while the stock was flat during that time. At the same time, these hedge fund firms held slightly more than 21% of the company’s shares on September 30. Peter Kolchinsky’s RA Capital Management cut its position in Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) by 451,885 shares during the third quarter to 1.46 million shares.

Let’s head to the next page of the article, where we discuss the recently-made moves of activist JANA Parners and healthcare-focused Baker Bros. Advisors.

According to a separate 13D filing, Barry Rosenstein’s JANA Partners ceased to beneficially own more than 5% in Computer Sciences Corporation (NYSE:CSC). The activist hedge fund firm reported owning 5.71 million shares in the provider of information technology (IT) services, which represent 4.1% of the company’s shares. This denotes a decrease of 1.63 million shares from the position revealed through the latest round of 13Fs. JANA Partners also praised the recent steps taken by the IT company’s Board of Directors and management, which includes their decision “to separate its global commercial business from its U.S. public sector unit”. On November 4, CSC’s Board approved the separation of its U.S public sector business under the name CSRA Inc., including a special cash distribution of $10.50 for each CSC share owned. The separation is set to be completed via a one-for-one pro rata distribution of CSRA shares to CSC’s equity holders. Meanwhile, the shares of the company are almost 11% in the green year-to-date.

Several hedge funds observed by Insider Monkey found the stock more appealing during the third quarter, as the number of hedge funds with positions in the IT company grew to 34 from 28 quarter-over-quarter, amassing 14.50% of the company’s outstanding common stock. Even so, the value of their stakes declined to $1.23 billion from $1.59 billion during the three-month period. Cliff Asness’ AQR Capital Management represents another hedge fund firm that owns a sizable position in Computer Sciences Corporation (NYSE:CSC) as of September 30, holding 1.71 million shares.

As stated in an amended 13D filing, Baker Bros. Advisors, founded by Julian Baker and Felix Baker, purchased a 1.26 million-share block of shares in Seattle Genetics Inc. (NASDAQ:SGEN) over the past 60 days and currently holds 37.54 million shares. The freshly-upped stake accounts for a whopping 26.9% of the company’s outstanding common stock. The biotechnology company, which focuses on the development of targeted therapies for the treatment of cancer, generated revenue of $243.3 million for the nine-month period that ended September 30, compared to $212.4 million reported for the same period of last year. This increase is attributed to the increase in sales from the company’s marketable product ADCETRIS, which added up to $163.0 million for the first nine months of 2015, compared with $131.7 million registered for the same period of 2014. The shares of the biotechnology company are 37% in the green year-to-date despite being caught in the August broader market sell-off and the healthcare sell-off that occurred at the end of September.

Seattle Genetics Inc. (NASDAQ:SGEN)’s stock has gained some popularity among the hedge funds tracked by the Insider Monkey team, considering that the number of top money managers invested in the company climbed to 21 from 16 during the September quarter. These hedge fund vehicles had stockpiled slightly more than 43% of the company’s outstanding common stock on September 30, while the value of their investments grew to $2.09 billion from $1.62 billion quarter-over-quarter. Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group acquired a 3.42 million-share stake in Seattle Genetics Inc. (NASDAQ:SGEN) during the third quarter.

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