Ubben Boosts Stake in This Insurance Broker, Icahn Unloads More Hologic Inc. (HOLX) Shares, Plus Two Other Moves

As revealed by a newly-amended 13D filing, Carl Icahn’s Icahn Capital LP owns 15.82 million shares of Hologic Inc. (NASDAQ:HOLX), which make up 5.58% of the company’s outstanding common stock. This is down from the 19.17 million-share position disclosed in Icahn Capital’s previous 13D filing on the company, discussed by Insider Monkey last week (read more details). The feared activist investor disclosed a double-digit percentage ownership stake in the Marlborough-based medical product company in late 2013, after which the investor pressured the company into appointing two Icahn designees, Jonathan Christodoro and Samuel Merksamer, to the company’s Board of Directors. Allegedly, the billionaire activist investor targeted Hologic Inc. (NASDAQ:HOLX) because he saw a promising company with great products run by incompetent people. “Hologic is the quintessential example of activism at its best. We commend Steve MacMillan [Chief Executive Officer of Hologic] for a job well done”, wrote the activist investor on Twitter earlier this year. Shares of Hologic are up by 60% in the past two years and by 5% in the past 12 months, so Mr. Icahn’s activist fund has earned a decent return on its investment in the company. Hologic operates as a developer, manufacturer and supplier of diagnostics products, medical imaging systems and surgical products, and is primarily focused on women’s health. The shares of Hologic currently change hands at 16.9-times expected earnings, versus the forward P/E ratio of 17.7 for the Healthcare Equipment sector. Hedge fund sentiment towards Hologic declined in the final quarter of 2015, with the number of funds invested in the company dropping to 33 from 38 quarter-over-quarter. Jim Simons’ Renaissance Technologies initiated a new position of 1.67 million shares in Hologic Inc. (NASDAQ:HOLX) during the December quarter.

Let’s wrap up our discussion by examining a new Schedule 13G filed with the SEC by a hedge fund vehicle run by Andrew Feldstein and Stephen Siderow. According to the fresh public filing, BlueMountain Capital Management LLC currently owns 2.59 million shares of Hanger Inc. (OTCMKTS:HNGR), which represent 7.2% of the company’s outstanding shares. This is up from the stake of 898,071 shares disclosed in BlueMountain’s 13F filing for the December quarter. Hanger Inc. (OTCMKTS:HNGR) is a provider of orthotic and prosthetic patient care, product distribution and therapeutic solutions. Earlier this year, the company received a letter from the New York Stock Exchange confirming that the NYSE had suspended trading of the company’s shares after Hanger Inc. failed to file its Form 10-K with the SEC. The delay in filing was associated with some accounting misstatements and other issues identified in the company’s financial statements and results. To be more detailed, the company said that a former employee purposely fabricated records used in the valuation of work-in-process inventory a few years ago. Moreover, the company said that certain former officers and employees might have been involved in inappropriate activities related to the establishment and use of an unsupported general reserve during the period of 2008 through 2012. Hanger’s shares have dropped by 73% in the past 52 weeks, while the number of funds invested in the battered company declined to five from 11 during the December quarter. John W. Rogers’ Ariel Investments owned 239,690 shares of Hanger Inc. (OTCMKTS:HNGR) at the end of December.

Disclosure: None