Jacob Gottlieb, Visium Asset Management Boost Exposure to QLT Inc.

Jacob Gottlieb‘s hedge fund, Visium Asset Management, has boosted its position in biotechnology company QLT Inc. (USA) (NASDAQ:QLTI), a new filing with the SEC revealed. Visium currently holds 3.5 million shares of the company, equal to 6.8% of the common stock, and up from 2.0 million revealed in its latest 13F.  The stake is passive by nature, and, at the current share price of QLT, the position’s value amounts to $17.9 million.

The stock of QLT has been down by over 30% since the beginning of the year. For the third quarter of the year, the company posted a loss from continuing operations of $0.15 per share, versus $0.25 in the same period of last year. At the same time, the company reported an almost flat Research & Development expense of $5.2 million. QLT is engaged in production and marketing of ocular products. Also, earlier this year, the company conducted a cash distribution worth $200 million.

Several hedge funds out of those we track have been keeping their long positions in QLT. As follows, Axial Capital, led by Eliav Assouline and Marc Andersen holds 8.9 million shares of the company, worth $41.1 million. Julian Baker And Felix Baker’s Baker Bros. Advisors, and Kevin Kotler’s Broadfin Capital disclosed ownership of 1.5 million shares, and 784,900 shares respectively, with values of $7.1 million, and $3.6 million respectively. All three holdings have remained flat over the quarter.

Jacob Gottlieb and Visium Asset Management caught our attention earlier in October, when they revealed initiating a position in MEI Pharma Inc (NASDAQ:MEIP). The stake amasses over 5% of the company and contains some 932,000 shares.

In the latest 13F, Visium disclosed its largest position in Allergan, Inc. (NYSE:AGN), in which it holds 2.8 million shares, worth $251.6 million. In Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH), the fund holds a $236.2 million stake, which amasses 4.5 million shares. The third-largest is Perrigo Company (NASDAQ:PRGO), in which Visium disclosed ownership of 1.6 million shares, worth $203.3 million.

Disclosure: none

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