As a new filing with the Securities and Exchange revealed, Neal C. Bradsher‘s Broadwood Capital has acquired a significant position in BioTime, Inc. (NYSEMKT:BTX) and raised its stake to nearly 17.90 million shares of the company. Broadwood acquired approximately 4.04 million shares in one transaction at a price of $3.12 per unit. The new stake amasses around 22% of the company and is activist by nature, with Mr. Bradsher serving on Biotime’s board of directors.
Broadwood Capital has been a shareholder of BioTime, Inc. (NYSEMKT:BTX) for nearly 10 years, the fund first initiating a substantial stake in the company in January 2004, as the records in filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission show. The stock gained over 200% since then and Mr. Bradsher raised his fund’s exposure from some 1.12 million shares the fund disclosed in its first 13D filing regarding BioTime, Inc. (NYSEMKT:BTX). Mr. Bradsher has been serving on the company’s board since 2009 with the stock of the company going through significant boost for the next several years, reaching as high as over $9.4 per share. Aside from Broadwood Capital, among the investors that we track at Insider Monkey, other shareholders of the company own small positions in Biotime. David E. Shaw‘s D E Shaw owns around 50,500 shares of the company and Israel Englander‘s Millennium Management hold 17,400 shares, both as of the end of June.
Despite amassing a significant position in BioTime, Inc. (NYSEMKT:BTX) over the years, the company is still not the largest holding in Broadwood’s equity portfolio. Broadwood has a very concentrated portfolio with only six positions, and the stake in BioTime is the sixth-largest in terms of value, representing around 7.5% of the portfolio. Broadwood has an equity portfolio in which almost a half is represented by healthcare companies, with the largest position being in Questcor Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:QCOR) before the company was acquired. Mr. Bradsher also served on Questcor’s board before the company was bought by Mallinckrodt.
Being a micro-cap biopharmaceutical company, BioTime has been advancing in terms of research in different areas through its subsidiaries. Among the latest developments, BioTime, Inc. (NYSEMKT:BTX) filed an Investigational New Drug application with the US FDA to initiate clinical trial of its OpRegen drug for the treatment of the dry form of age-related macular degeneration, which is considered to open a significant market opportunity for the company. In addition, the company and its subsidiaries have recently secured around $31 million in financing for its research and development projects.
Being a long-term investor, with most positions in its equity portfolio being represented by the same companies for several years, Mr. Bradsher managed to secured some significant returns. For example, the aforementioned Questcor Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:QCOR) surged by over 1,600% over the last five years before being aquired. Other stakes on which Mr. Bradsher has bet have also provided generally positive returns over the years.
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