Why Repros Therapeutics Inc (RPRX) Was One Of Black Friday’s Biggest Gainers

Shares of Repros Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:RPRX) ended up by 45.14% during today’s truncated Black Friday trading session, following the Thanksgiving holiday. The surge comes amid news that the company’s treatment for secondary hypogonadism, which results in low testosterone and a reduced sperm count in men, will be reviewed by the FDA on Monday, which suggests that investors are feeling positive about the outcome. The FDA had previously called into question the method used by the company for the analysis of data in its study, which now appears to be resolved. Nonetheless, with its lead candidate, Androxal, approaching potential approval, the investors in our database, some of which are healthcare experts, were not as confident about the stock in the third quarter.

Repros Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:RPRX) shareholders have witnessed a decrease in support from the world’s most elite money managers lately. Repros Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:RPRX) was in 17 hedge funds’ portfolios at the end of September. There were 19 hedge funds in our database with Repros Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:RPRX) holdings at the end of the previous quarter. At the end of this article we will also compare Repros Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:RPRX) to other stocks including SeaSpine Holdings Corp (NASDAQ:SPNE), Avinger Inc (NASDAQ:AVGR), and Quinpario Acquisition Corp 2 (NASDAQ:QPACU) to get a better sense of its popularity.

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Now, let’s take a glance at the new action regarding Repros Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:RPRX).

Hedge fund activity in Repros Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:RPRX)

At Q3’s end, a total of 17 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey held long positions in this stock, a dip of 11% from the previous quarter. With hedge funds’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a few notable hedge fund managers who were boosting their holdings meaningfully (or had already accumulated large positions).

Of the funds tracked by Insider Monkey, Julian Baker and Felix Baker’s Baker Bros. Advisors has the most valuable position in Repros Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:RPRX), worth close to $14.5 million, accounting for 0.1% of its total 13F portfolio. Sitting in the two spot is Sarissa Capital Management, managed by Alex Denner, which holds an $8.4 million position; the fund has 2.1% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Some other professional money managers with similar optimism contain Israel Englander’s Millennium Management, Michael Pollack’s Destrier Capital, and Howard Guberman’s Gruss Asset Management.

Seeing as Repros Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:RPRX) has experienced a declination in interest from hedge fund managers, it’s easy to see that there were a few fund managers that decided to sell off their entire stakes in the third quarter. It’s worth mentioning that Cliff Asness’ AQR Capital Management said goodbye to the biggest stake of the 700 funds followed by Insider Monkey, totaling close to $0.3 million in stock, and Chao Ku’s Nine Chapters Capital Management was right behind this move, as the fund sold off about $0.3 million worth of shares as well. These moves are interesting, as total hedge fund interest dropped by two funds in the third quarter.

Let’s also examine hedge fund activity in other stocks – not necessarily in the same industry as Repros Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:RPRX) but similarly valued. These stocks are SeaSpine Holdings Corp (NASDAQ:SPNE), Avinger Inc (NASDAQ:AVGR), Quinpario Acquisition Corp 2 (NASDAQ:QPACU), and VOXX International Corp (NASDAQ:VOXX). This group of stocks’ market caps are closest to Repros Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:RPRX)’s market cap.

As you can see these stocks had an average of 10.25 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $64 million. That figure was $44 million in Repros Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:RPRX)’s case. Quinpario Acquisition Corp 2 (NASDAQ:QPACU) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Avinger Inc (NASDAQ:AVGR) is the least popular one with only 5 bullish hedge fund positions. Compared to these stocks Repros Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:RPRX) is more popular among hedge funds, although the amount of money invested in it is only average. Considering that hedge funds are generally fond of this stock in relation to its market cap peers, it may be a good idea to analyze it in detail and potentially include it in your portfolio before or after Monday’s announcement.