Nantahala Capital Management Buys Into Scientific Learning Corporation (SCIL)

Wilmot B. Harkey and Daniel Mack‘s Nantahala Capital Management opened a 4.8 million share position in the education company Scientific Learning Corporation (OTCMKTS:SCIL) according to a 13G filing. With the purchase, Nantahala now owns 19% of Scientific Learning Corporation’s outstanding shares.

Scientific Learning Corporation

Scientific Learning Corporation provides on-premise software solutions to K-12 schools. SCIL’s software is developed based on the company’s insight into learning and is used in more than 40 countries around the world. The company’s products include Fast ForWord, which “develops and strengthens memory, attention, processing rate, and sequencing—the cognitive skills essential for reading intervention program success,” and Reading Assistant, which uses a simple, but effective method: Students preview and read the text while listening to model readings. Following this, students answer questions and read text aloud.

In recent company-related news: On December 20 of last year, Scientific Learning Corporation (OTCMKTS:SCIL) acquired a number of patents from Posit Science Corporation in exchange for a reduction in royalty fees.

Nantahala Capital’s portfolio primarily invests in small cap stocks and fixed-income instruments. Managers Harkey and Mack’s largest long positions are in LinkedIn Corp (NYSE:LNKD) and SunCoke Energy Inc. (NYSE:SXC) Nantahala owns 65,000 shares of LinkedIn Corp, which makes up 3.58% of its portfolio. The fund’s position in Suncoke stands at more than 769,000 shares and makes up 2.9% of the fund’s portfolio.

Recently, Douglas T. Granat‘s fund Trigran Investments has sold a part of its holding in Scientific Learning Corporation (OTCMKTS:SCIL). According to SEC filings, Trigran sold a total of 1.0 million shares, reducing its position in the company to 5.69 million shares. The securities were sold in two transactions, the price amounting to $0.15 apiece.

Disclosure: none

Recommended Reading:

Elliott Management Reports New 6.2% Stake in Juniper Networks, Inc. (JNPR); Proposes Measures to Increase Stock Price to $35/Share 

Prem Watsa, Fairfax Acquire Some Shares of BlackBerry Ltd (BBRY) for Investment Purposes

Visium Asset Management Ups Stake in Skyrocketing Intercept Pharmaceuticals Inc (ICPT)