VHCP Management Produced Impressive Returns From Its Pharma Stock Picks In The Turbulent Third Quarter

Although VHCP’s second-largest equity holding on June 30, GW Pharmaceuticals PLC- ADR (NASDAQ:GWPH), lost 25% during the third quarter of the year, it is still trading up by 31.58% year-to-date thanks to the rally it saw during the first half of the year. The fund held 311,853 shares of the company at the end of June, valued at $38.31 million. The U.S FDA recently approved GW Pharmaceuticals PLC- ADR (NASDAQ:GWPH)’s request for a trial of its pharmaceutical grade Cannabidiol (CBD) drug, Epidiolex. Most analysts that cover the stock have a ‘Buy’ rating on it, with the consensus price target standing at $144.40. Billionaire investor David E. Shaw‘s firm D.E. Shaw owned 23,483 shares of GW Pharmaceuticals PLC- ADR (NASDAQ:GWPH) at the end of second quarter.

Moving on, VHCP Management owned almost 1.01 million shares of Heron Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:HRTX) at the end of June worth $34.14 million. After more than doubling in the month of June, shares of Heron Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:HRTX) remained largely flat during the following two months. However, the volatility in September caused them to end the third quarter down by nearly 20%. Nevertheless, the gains made in June has ensured that they are still trading up year-to-date, by over 150%. On September 23, shares of the company saw massive gains of over 25% after it released positive top-line data for its experimental pain medicine, HTX-011, from a mid-stage study. Christopher Medlock James‘ Partner Fund Management was one of the hedge funds that initiated a stake in Heron Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:HRTX) during the second quarter, buying over 1.8 million shares.