After more than doubling yesterday, shares of AEterna Zentaris Inc. (USA) (NASDAQ:AEZS) are having another big day in early trading today, up by over 56%. Yesterday’s gains came after the biopharmaceutical company announced that it had enrolled its first patient for its pivotal phase 3 study of Macrilen, a treatment for growth hormone deficiency in adults, which affects approximately 75,000 adults in the U.S, Canada, and Europe. Today, the company also announced that 11,000 post-share consolidation Series B Common Share Purchase Warrants were exercised, resulting in the issuance of 365,518 additional Common Shares. The major gains of the last two days come after AEterna Zentaris was beginning to attract more attention from the investors in our database.
The number of long hedge fund bets went up by 2 in the third quarter. AEterna Zentaris Inc. was in 4 hedge funds’ portfolios at the end of the third quarter of 2015. There were just 2 hedge funds in our database with AEterna Zentaris Inc. positions at the end of the quarter prior to that. At the end of this article we will also compare AEterna Zentaris Inc. to other stocks including EnteroMedics Inc (NASDAQ:ETRM), Biodel Inc (NASDAQ:BIOD), and Rubicon Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:RBCN) to get a better sense of its popularity.
Follow Aeterna Zentaris Inc (NASDAQ:AEZS)
Follow Aeterna Zentaris Inc (NASDAQ:AEZS)
To most shareholders, hedge funds are viewed as slow, old financial tools of yesteryear. While there are more than 8,000 funds with their doors open at the moment, our experts hone in on the upper echelon of this club, around 700 funds. These investment experts orchestrate most of the hedge fund industry’s total asset base, and by tracking their inimitable investments, Insider Monkey has identified a few investment strategies that have historically defeated the market. Insider Monkey’s small-cap hedge fund strategy outpaced the S&P 500 index by 12 percentage points annually for a decade in their back tests.
Now, we’re going to take a peek at the key action encompassing AEterna Zentaris Inc. (USA) (NASDAQ:AEZS).
Hedge fund activity in AEterna Zentaris Inc. (USA) (NASDAQ:AEZS)
At the end of the third quarter, a total of 4 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey held long positions in this stock, a 100% increase from one quarter earlier. With hedge funds’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists an “upper tier” of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were increasing their holdings significantly (or already accumulated large positions).
When looking at the institutional investors followed by Insider Monkey, Renaissance Technologies holds the largest position in AEterna Zentaris Inc. (USA) (NASDAQ:AEZS). Renaissance Technologies has a $1 million position in the stock, comprising less than 0.1% of its 13F portfolio. Coming in second is Sander Gerber of Hudson Bay Capital Management, with a $0.1 million position; the fund manager has less than 0.1% of his firm’s 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Other professional money managers with similar optimism consist of Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group, and John Overdeck and David Siegel’s Two Sigma Advisors.
As industrywide interest jumped, key money managers were breaking ground themselves. Hudson Bay Capital Management created the largest position in AEterna Zentaris Inc. (USA) (NASDAQ:AEZS). Hudson Bay Capital Management had $0.1 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Citadel Investment Group also made a $0.1 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The other fund with a brand new AEterna Zentaris Inc. position is Two Sigma Advisors.
Let’s now take a look at hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to AEterna Zentaris Inc. (USA) (NASDAQ:AEZS). These stocks are EnteroMedics Inc (NASDAQ:ETRM), Biodel Inc (NASDAQ:BIOD), Rubicon Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:RBCN), and Echelon Corporation (NASDAQ:ELON). This group of stocks’ market valuations are closest to AEterna Zentaris Inc.’s market valuation.
| Ticker | No of HFs with positions | Total Value of HF Positions (x1000) | Change in HF Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| ETRM | 5 | 809 | -1 |
| BIOD | 8 | 6239 | -1 |
| RBCN | 5 | 8457 | -2 |
| ELON | 4 | 3549 | -1 |
As you can see these stocks had an average of 5.5 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $5 million. That figure was $1 million in AEterna Zentaris Inc.’s case. Biodel Inc (NASDAQ:BIOD) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Echelon Corporation (NASDAQ:ELON) is the least popular one with only 4 bullish hedge fund positions. Compared to these stocks AEterna Zentaris Inc. (USA) (NASDAQ:AEZS) is tied for the least ownership. However, given that ownership has doubled in the last quarter and the company is finally making a move towards the finish line with Macrilen, it’s worth giving this stock a deeper look.
