Samuel Isaly’s OrbiMed Advisors Discloses Large Stake in Glaukos Corp (GKOS) After Its IPO

Glaukos Corp (NYSE:GKOS) is an $870 million developer of products for the treatment of glaucoma, which conducted its IPO last week with 6.90 million shares at $18.00 per unit. Among the initial backers of the company is Sam Isaly’s OrbiMed Advisors, which disclosed holding 2.90 million common shares obtained through the conversion of Series D Convertible Preferred Stock and Series F Convertible Preferred Stock and warrants. The position amasses close to 10% of the company’s outstanding stock. Prior to the IPO, OrbiMed held around 11.7% of the outstanding shares.

Samuel Isaly Orbimed Advisors

Since the stock of Glaukos Corp (NYSE:GKOS) started trading on June 25 it declined by around 7%, although it opened at $29.11, which is significantly above the IPO price. For the last year, the company had revenue of $46 million and a net loss of $0.51 per share, while for the first quarter of 2015, its revenue amounted to $15 million and a net loss of $1.05.

Aside from OrbiMed, other hedge funds among those that we track, have not disclosed holding shares of Glaukos, so far. We will keep monitoring the filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission to get a better idea regarding the hedge fund sentiment. According to the S-1 form of Glaukos Corp (NYSE:GKOS), among the principal stockholders are Domain Associates, Versant Ventures, and Frazier Healthcare with 9.8%, 10.2% and 8.4% of the outstanding stock respectively.

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It’s not surprising that OrbiMed was among the investors that backed Glaukos Corp (NYSE: GKOS), when it was still a private company. Mr. Isaly is known for investing in companies from venture capital to public markets and is focused on companies that develop pharmaceutical products or medical devices, rather than different healthcare services. According to its latest 13F filing, OrbiMed’s equity portfolio stands at $11.71 billion, balanced between large- and small-cap companies. Earlier in May, OrbiMed disclosed slightly trimming its stake in biopharmaceutical company Relypsa Inc (NASDAQ:RLYP) to 7.40 million shares from 8.86 million shares, holding an activist stake with 17.90%. Moreover, the fund’s top positions are represented by Bristol-Myers Squibb Co (NYSE:BMY), Biogen Inc (NASDAQ:BIIB), and Amgen, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN).

Disclosure: none