Amarin Corporation plc (ADR) (AMRN), Exelixis, Inc. (EXEL): Here’s What This 220% Gainer Has Been Buying and Selling

Finally, Passport Capital’s biggest closed positions included Wynn Resorts, Limited (NASDAQ:WYNN) and Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL). Other closed positions of interest include Keryx Biopharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:KERX) and Vical Incorporated (NASDAQ:VICL).

Keryx investors were hit with disappointing trial results a year or so ago for the company’s experimental colorectal cancer drug perifosine. But in January they got word of very promising results for Keryx’s Zerenex, targeting complications due to end-stage renal disease. That propelled the stock, only to have it fall some on news of a secondary stock offering to raise funds. Still, bears point to a dearth of other contenders in the company’s pipeline and wonder if Zerenex will be able to fend off competition.

Vical makes its money via vaccine technology, among other things, that it can license to others. It has more in its pipeline than Keryx, including some drugs in phase 3 trials. At a recent conference, management noted the company’s strong financial position, with ample cash and an absence of debt. Some worry, though, about the prolonging of its melanoma-drug trials — and FDA approval is rarely certain.

We should never blindly copy any investor’s moves, no matter how talented the investor. But it can be useful to keep an eye on what smart folks are doing. 13-F forms can be great places to find intriguing candidates for our portfolios.

The article Here’s What This 220% Gainer Has Been Buying and Selling originally appeared on Fool.com.

Longtime Fool contributor Selena Maranjian, whom you can follow on Twitter, owns shares of Apple and Cliffs Natural Resources. The Motley Fool recommends and owns shares of Apple, Exelixis, and Riverbed Technology.

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