Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co (GT), Office Depot Inc. (ODP), Anika Therapeutics Inc. (ANIK): Portolan Capital Management’s Top Picks

Portolan Capital Management was bullish on Office Depot Inc. (NASDAQ:ODP), in which it increased its stake in the fourth quarter by 28%. The fund held 1.79 million shares as of December 31, 2014, up from the just under 1.40 million shares the fund held previously. The holding is valued at around $15.4 million. Office Depot Inc. (NASDAQ:ODP) has a market cap of $5.2 billion, and is based in Florida. The company is a global supplier of office products and services, and operates under the brand names Office Depot and OfficeMax.

Recently, Staples Inc. (NASDAQ:SPLS) agreed to acquire all of the outstanding shares of Office Depot Inc. (NASDAQ:ODP). The transaction, which is expected to close by the end of the 2015 calendar year, values Office Depot Inc. (NASDAQ:ODP) at $11.00 per share, representing a premium of 44% over the closing price of the company’s shares as of February 2. The deal values the company at an equity value of $6.3 billion. Over the last year, the company’s stock moved up by 86.55%.

Among the funds we track, Jeffrey Smith’s Starboard Value LP was the largest institutional investor, with reported ownership of 53.35 million shares of Office Depot Inc. (NASDAQ:ODP) as of the end of December 10, 2014. Smith’s fund, which also held 31.46 million shares in Staples as of February 4, helped push for the merger of the two companies. Lioneye Capital Management, run by Stephen V. Raneri, disclosed ownership of 9.33 million shares Office Depot shares as of the end of the third quarter of 2014.

Anika Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:ANIK) was the third largest holding in Portolan Capital Management’s portfolio. The fund reported holding 308,131 shares of the company, up 21% from the 252,833 shares held previously. The stake is valued at $12.6 million. Anika Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:ANIK) is engaged in the development and manufacture of therapeutic products for tissue protection, healing and repair. The company  has a market cap of $594.8 million. On Thursday, shares of the company are trading up by 1.38% at $41.17. The consensus average target price is $53.83 for the stock, while the consensus average recommendation is ‘Buy’. Since February 2014, the company’s stock gained 25.34%.

Millennium Management, led by Israel Englander, held 375,829 shares of Anika Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:ANIK) as of September 30, 2014. Joel Greenblatt’s Gotham Asset Management reported holding 375,753 shares of the company as of the end of the third quarter of 2014.

Disclosure: none