Steve Cohen‘s Point72 Asset Management has upped its stake in two companies and added two new holdings to its equity portfolio, according to four separate Schedule 13G forms filed with the SEC recently. Firstly, an additional 642,300 shares of Sarepta Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:SRPT) were acquired, taking the total ownership to the company to over 2.19 million shares. Cohen’s Smith & Wesson Holding Corp (NASDAQ:SWHC) holding was increased to just under 2.70 million shares through the addition of about 1.76 million shares. Moreover, a new stake in Trillium Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:TRIL) was initiated, consisting of 378,050 shares, representing 5.6% of the company’s outstanding stock. Finally, another new stake was initiated in CONN’S, Inc. (NASDAQ:CONN) of over 1.82 million shares, constituting about 5% of the company’s outstanding shares. The stakes were acquired through various affiliated funds of Point72.
Point72 Asset Management, formerly known as SAC Capital Advisors, was founded in 1992 with $25 million in assets. The hedge fund’s name was changed in 2014 as Cohen wanted to distance his firm from the negative publicity that it was embroiled in pertaining to one of the biggest insider-trading scandals in the history of the hedge fund industry, which ended with SAC paying a total of $1.8 billion in penalties. The new fund has about $10 billion in assets and is a family office, managing the money of only Cohen, his family members, and certain employees. The market value of Point72’s equity portfolio stood at $14.25 billion at the end of the first quarter. Holdings in the consumer discretionary and energy sectors contributed 21% and 17% respectively to the above value.
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Cohen’s new holding in Sarepta Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:SRPT) represents 5.3% of the company’s outstanding stock. Point72 also holds call options on 275,200 of Sarepta’s shares. Down by about 8.29% year-to-date, the $526.23 million biopharmaceutical company is focused on developing RNA-based therapeutics. Sarepta Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:SRPT)’s leading treatment is eteplirsen, a program for Duchenne muscular dystrophy. After the resignation of former CEO and President Christopher Garabedian, the company recently appointed its Chief Medical Officer Edward Kaye as its interim CEO. According to our database, Joseph Edelman is the largest stockholder of Sarepta Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:SRPT), as he held some 2.81 million shares at the end of the first quarter.
Point72’s current stake in the U.S. market leader in firearms, Smith & Wesson Holding Corp (NASDAQ:SWHC), constitutes 5% of the $803.26 million company’s outstanding stock. The company operates in two segments: firearms and accessories. According to Smith & Wesson Holding Corp (NASDAQ:SWHC)’s investor presentation, 89% of the company’s fiscal third quarter revenue came from the consumer market. The demand of the products varied from sport activities such as hunting, to the personal protection and concealed carry requirements of some customers. The rest of the 11% of revenue came from the professional market including law enforcement and military. Smith & Wesson Holding Corp (NASDAQ:SWHC)’s stock has appreciated by a hefty 60.4% year-to- date. Chuck Royce‘s Royce & Associates and Steve Galbraith’s Herring Creek Capital are two other significant shareholders of the company.
Trillium Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:TRIL) was another one of Cohen’s bets, which contributed towards the health care sector representation of 14% in his portfolio. The developer of immuno-oncology therapies for the treatment of cancer was recently initiated with an ‘Outperform’ rating and a $29 price target by Leerink Swann, with the price target showing 30% upside based on current trading levels. Trillium Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:TRIL)’s stock is up by a staggering 116% year-to-date. According to some analysts, the cancer immunotherapy industry could be valued around $35 billion by 2023. James Flynn’s Deerfield Management also initiated a stake in the company during the first quarter, which comprised 226,046 shares, representing 5.19% of Trillium Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:TRIL)’s outstanding stock.
The $1.07 billion electronics retail stores holding company CONN’S, Inc. (NASDAQ:CONN) is up by 60.78% year-to-date. Its forward earnings multiple stands at 12.79, which is on the higher end of the spectrum in the industry, but so is its PEG ratio of 0.83. In comparison, GameStop Corp.(NYSE:GME), one of CONN’S, Inc. (NASDAQ:CONN)’s industry peers, has a forward multiple of 9.18 and PEG ratio of 0.8. Christian Leone‘s Luxor Capital Group held nearly 7.59 million shares of CONN’S, Inc. (NASDAQ:CONN), according to its latest filing.
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