Aegerion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (AEGR) & The GEO Group Inc (GEO): Scopia Capital Bets On Biotech Recovery, Gets Out Of Real Estate

Scopia Capital Management has disclosed in a recent regulatory filing with the Security and Exchange Commission that it has acquired 4.2 million shares of Aegerion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEGR), a $900 million market cap biopharmaceutical company. The stake represents around 14.2% of the company’s outstanding shares and has a present market value of $150 million. In addition, the investor has sold 2 million shares valued at $76 million in real estate investment trust The GEO Group Inc (NYSE:GEO), decreasing its stake in the company to 0.85%.

The move may represent a portfolio shuffle, with the investor cashing in on a recovery in the US real estate market, and putting its funds to work in a bio-pharmaceutical company that may represent an opportunity because the stock is relatively cheap. The GEO Group Inc (NYSE:GEO) pays a quarterly dividend and rose by more than 100% since September, 2008, when Scopia Capital first disclosed a stake in the REIT. In contrast Aegerion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEGR) stock fell 57% year-to-date on general market jitters about overvalued bio-technology companies.

In the most recent quarter, Aegerion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEGR) which develops therapeutics to treat lipid disorders, has reported a net loss of 33 cents per share, which was less than the analysts’ expectations of 44 cents and the year-ago loss of 66 cents. Net product sales were up 29%, reaching $36 million. The bottom-line improvement, however, has not halted the stock’s free-fall, which was trading at around $95 per share a year ago and at only $30 per share now. Recently, the Cambridge-based US company announced its intention to sell $250 million worth of convertible notes in the open market.

Other investors that own Aegerion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEGR) shares include Jerome Pfund’s  Sectoral Asset Management with 934,100 shares which have a current market value of $28 million, Sean Cullinan’s Point State Capital with 925,000 shares worth $27 million and Julian and Felix Baker’s Baker Bros. Advisors with 513,922 million shares valued at $15 million.

Disclosure: None