A Look At Three Activist Moves By Several Elite Hedge Funds

As stated in a separate 13D filing, billionaire Leon Cooperman of Omega Advisors holds a 2.68 million-share position in Resource America Inc. (NASDAQ:REXI), which accounts for 12.7% of the company’s shares. Omega Advisors owned only 779,187 shares in the company on September 30, as revealed by the fund’s 13F filing for the third quarter. The 13D public filing also disclosed that Leon Cooperman and his team have engaged discussions with the company’s management and Board of Directors and may continue doing so in the future. Possible discussions may be related to Resource America Inc. (NASDAQ:REXI)’s business, management, operations, assets, capitalization, financial condition, among other things. The shares of this asset management company that specializes in real estate and credit investments are down by 48% year-to-date. The company services and manages investment opportunities through its real estate, financial fund management and commercial finance subsidiaries, holding $21.7 billion in assets under management as of September 30. The company’s revenues from its real estate operations totaled $54.3 million for the nine-month period that ended September 30, up $13.3 million year-on-year. A mere six smart money investors tracked by Insider Monkey had stakes in the company at the end of the third quarter, accumulating 7.10% of its outstanding common stock. Although the number of funds invested in the company remained flat quarter-on-quarter, the value of hedge funds’ investments shrank to $10.59 million from $14.30 million. Richard Mashaal’s Rima Senvest Management cut its stake in Resource America Inc. (NASDAQ:REXI) by 12% during the July-to-September quarter to roughly 475,000 shares.

In a freshly-amended 13D filing, Samuel Isaly’s Orbimed Advisors reported selling exactly 500,000 shares in Relypsa Inc. (NASDAQ:RLYP) last week at prices that ranged from $25.88 to $28.75 per share. The filing discloses that Orbimed Advisors holds an ownership stake of 7.40 million shares in the biopharmaceutical company, representing 17.75% of the company’s outstanding common stock. The shares of Relypsa have gained nearly 66% over the past three-month period, thanks to the U.S. FDA approval of its Veltassa (patiromer) for the treatment of hyperkalemia. The stock is almost 6% in the red year-to-date, but several financial hubs and numerous analysts have great expectations about the company’s future. Although the existing options for the chronic management of hyperkalemia are limited, the company is aware of the threatening competition in the industry. For instance, ZS Pharma Inc. (NASDAQ:ZSPH), which is developing a zirconium silicate particle to treat hyperkalemia referred to as ZS-9, submitted a New Drug Application for ZS-9 this spring and anticipates a decision by the end of May, 2016. At the end of December, Relypsa Inc. (NASDAQ: RLYP) announced that Veltassa was made available for prescription to patients with hyperkalemia in the U.S., so it remains to see to what extent the company is able to capitalize on the first FDA-approved medicine for hyperkalemia in more than 50 years. A total of 25 hedge funds from our extensive database had positions in the company on September 30, stockpiling 40.40% of its outstanding shares. James E. Flynn’s Deerfield Management holds a 1.10 million-share stake in Relypsa Inc. (NASDAQ:RLYP) as of the end of the third quarter.

Disclosure: None