Arrowhead Research Corp (ARWR): Bridger Management Builds 5.5% Passive Stake

Roberto Mignone’s Bridger Management has amassed a 5.5% stake in Arrowhead Research Corp (NASDAQ:ARWR) according to a 13G filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on January 23. Bridger Management now owns 2.98 million Arrowhead shares as of the time of the filing.

Mignone was one of the 23 hedge fund managers profiled in Katherine Burton’s 2007 novel Hedge Hunters. In it, she described the very meticulous and calculated way in which Mignone manages his fund, which the Harvard Business School grad started in 2000. Bridger maintains a very balanced equity portfolio of approximately 30 long positions and 60 short positions, with each of those holdings limited in size so that the overall gross exposure never exceeds 200%, while the net exposure falls between 20% and 60%. As of September 30, Bridger’s equity portfolio was valued at $1.47 billion. 

The position in Arrowhead Research Corp (NASDAQ:ARWR) is a new one for Bridger, which reporting no position in the company as of September 30, according to their most recent 13F filing. The strong push into another pharmaceutical stock is nothing new for the fund, which has placed a high emphasis on the healthcare sector.

As we reported in October, Bridger has greatly increased their position in The Medicines Company (NASDAQ:MDCO), upping their stake from 1.86 million shares as of June 30, to 3.3 million shares by early October, nearly doubling their position. That elevated The Medicines Company to the top position in their equity portolio as of September 30, representing 4.72% of its total value. Bridger also has strong positions in Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd (ADR) (NYSE:TEVA) with 1.21 million shares, and Envision Healthcare Holdings Inc (NYSE:EVHC) with 1.74 million shares. Both of those positions were greatly increased during the third quarter of 2014, with Teva’s increasing 62%, and Envision’s up 30%.