Jeffrey Ubben’s ValueAct Capital ceased to be the beneficial owner of more than 5% of Agrium Inc. (USA) (NYSE:AGU)’s common stock on February 22, as revealed in a newly-amended 13D filing. The SEC filing reveals that ValueAct Capital owns 6.77 million shares of Agrium, which represent 4.9% of the company’s total outstanding shares. This marks a decrease of 3.23 million shares from the stake disclosed by the fund’s 13F filing for the fourth quarter of 2015. The shares of the Canadian fertilizer company have lost 29% over the past 12 months, mostly due to lower crop nutrient prices. Fertilizer prices have been pressured by a relatively strong dollar, high global inventories of grains and oilseeds, and low crop prices. To be more specific, the prices of crops have been hit by yet another year of high crop yields, which in turn led to increased inventories. Agrium Inc. (USA) (NYSE:AGU)’s sales totaled $14.80 billion in 2015, down from $16.04 billion reported for the previous year. Moreover, the company’s management anticipates macroeconomic headwinds and sustained low crop prices in 2016, so there still might be more pain ahead for the company. The number of smart money investors from our database with positions in the company increased to 22 from 20 during the fourth quarter. D.E. Shaw & Co. L.P., founded by billionaire David E. Shaw, owns 1.49 million shares of Agrium Inc. (USA) (NYSE:AGU) as of December 31.
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As disclosed in a Form 4 filing, Baker Bros. Advisors, managed by Julian and Felix Bakers, has bought 1.00 million shares of Seattle Genetics Inc. (NASDAQ:SGEN) since last Thursday at prices that ranged from $29.20 to $30.48 per share and lifted its stake to 39.67 million shares (excluding the shares held directly by Felix J. Baker and Julian C. Baker). The freshly-upped stake accounts for 28.3% of the company’s outstanding stock. It is worth mentioning that the healthcare-focused hedge fund has purchased more shares of Seattle Genetics since the beginning of the year, as revealed in several other Form 4 filings; the fund owned 37.29 million shares of Seattle Genetics on December 31, 2015. The shares of the biotechnology company focusing on developing therapies for the treatment of cancer are down 34% since the beginning of the year. The company’s marketed product ADCETRIS (brentuximab vedotin), approved for the treatment of relapsed Hodgkin lymphoma and relapsed systemic anaplastic large cell lymphoma, has been a major source of growth for Seattle Genetics in recent years. Seattle Genetics Inc. (NASDAQ:SGEN)’s 2015 total revenue reached $226.05 million, up from $178.20 million in 2014 and $144.67 million in 2013. The increase was exclusively attributable to an increase of 27% in ADCETRIC net product sales. However, the company’s expenses increased substantially in 2015, mainly due to higher investments in its growing pipeline of pre-clinical and clinical-stage programs. The hedge fund sentiment towards the stock was negative in the fourth quarter, as the number of money managers from our system with stakes in the company declined to 16 from 21 quarter-over-quarter. Jeremy Green’s Redmile Group reported owning 1.37 million shares of Seattle Genetics Inc. (NASDAQ:SGEN) through the latest round of 13Fs.
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