Opus Point Partners was founded by Michael S. Weiss and Dr. Lindsay A. Rosenwald in 2009. Prior to launching Opus Point Partners, Mr. Weiss and Dr. Rosenwald had worked together between 1993 and 1999 on managing a biotech investment firm, Paramount Capital/Aries Funds, but in 1999, Mr. Weiss left to create his own biotech company, ACCESS Oncology (which would be acquired in 2004 by Keryx Biopharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:KERX)).
In the meantime, Dr. Rosenwald continued to work at Aries, which became one of the most prolific incubators of new biotech start-up up until the financial crisis of 2007-2008. As Weiss also left Keryx Biopharmaceuticals, where he had worked after the acquisition of ACCESS Oncology, in 2009, both decided to join their forces to create a new hedge fund, which benefited from over two decades of experience of both partners in the biotech space.
Due to the biotech-focused background of both of its founders, Opus Point Partners is mainly invested in the biotech industry, which accounts for over 90% of its equity portfolio. In addition, because of Mr. Weiss’s and Dr. Rosenwald’s expertise in the field, they take an activist approach, i.e. they serve on the board of directors of several companies, such as Avenue Therapeutics Inc (ATXI), where Dr. Rosenwald is the Executive Chairman, Mustang Bio, Inc. (MBIO), where Mr. Weiss serves as Chairman of the Board, and Checkpoint Therapeutics Inc (CKPT), where Mr. Weiss is the Executive Chairman. In addition, Dr. Rosenwald is the Chairman and CEO of Fortress Biotech Inc (FBIO), and Mr. Weiss serves as the Executive Chairman and CEO of TG Therapeutics Inc (TGTX).
In addition to investments in healthcare, Opus Point Partners was also in the spotlight in 2010 relating to its investment in a financial company, National Holdings Corporation (NASDAQ:NHLD). The fund invested around $3.0 million in National Holdings Corporation, a broker-dealer, and Michael Weiss was appointed as the company’s Chairman of the Board. In 2016, the aforementioned Fortress Biotech conducted a tender offer to buy National Holdings Corporation, but failed to acquire enough shares to take the company private.
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Following funds like Opus Point Partners can be useful, because these funds have more skills at picking stocks and can take advantage of resources that are not always available for the retail investors. In this case, given the expertise of Mr. Weiss and Dr. Roswald and their decades of experience in the biotech space, following its investments can unveil some interesting investing opportunities, especially since many biotech companies are in early stages and have the potential to skyrocket if their research pays off. Another strategy that involves following large hedge funds that can minimize risks is to look for the stocks that many hedge funds are collectively bullish on. This is what we do at Insider Monkey through analyzing 13F filings of over 600 hedge funds. We identify certain investments that enjoy strong support from these funds and share them with our premium subscribers (see more details here).
Opus Point Partners holds an equity portfolio worth $108 million as of the end of June, according to its latest 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. As the fund cut 48 holdings during the second quarter, and closed seven positions, the value of the portfolio declined from $134.73 million at the end of March. Even though almost the entire portfolio consists of biotech and healthcare stocks, it is fairly diversified across companies, containing over 60 long positions. In this article, we are going to take a look at some of Opus Point Partners’ top holdings, as well as several companies in which the fund acquired new stakes during the second quarter.
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