Sequenom, Aclaris, and Xenoport Making Waves Among Elite Healthcare Investors

Let’s move on to Sequenom Inc. (NASDAQ:SQNM), which Camber Capital Management, managed by Stephen Dubois, is as bullish as ever on. It’s been about 16 months since we reported that Dubois’s healthcare-focused firm had built its stake in the genome-focused life sciences company to 6.3 million shares. Since then it had gradually added even more shares to its haul, owning an even 9.0 million shares on June 30 of this year. However, it’s made its biggest move yet since then, reporting ownership of 15.4 million shares in today’s filing, giving it a 13% stake in the company.

Camber clearly feels very strongly about the work Sequenom Inc. (NASDAQ:SQNM) is doing, even if the broader market isn’t so sure yet. Sequenom’s shares have been cut in half over the past 16 months. Shares are also down by 49% this year, having strongly trended down from May 7 onward, after the company released its first quarter financial results. In addition to the results coming in below analysts’ expectations, Wedbush also downgraded the stock to ‘Neutral’, which led to shares diving by 15% on May 7.

The investors in our database largely maintained their Sequenom Inc. (NASDAQ:SQNM) holdings during the second quarter, with 13 investors long Sequenom at the start and end of the quarter, and the value of their holdings falling at about an equal pace as the stock, meaning there was limited collective movement of shares. Funds we track held 22.30% of its shares. Atop that list was William Leland Edwards’ Palo Alto Investors with 10.02 million shares, which has now been surpassed by Camber’s enhanced position.

Lastly is RA Capital Management’s filing on Aclaris Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:ACRS), a company which went public last Wednesday and is off to a strong start, gaining 13.82% across its first five trading sessions. RA Capital, a strong healthcare fund managed by Peter Kolchinsky, has taken a big stake in the newly-listed company, whose initial public offering consisted of 5.75 million shares, as it has snatched up 2.24 million of those shares, giving it an 11.5% stake in the company. There are no other known shareholders of Aclaris Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:ACRS) within our database at this time.

Headquartered in Malvern, Pennsylvania, Aclaris Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:ACRS) is focused on the development of novel treatments for skin conditions, including non-cancerous tumors, and common warts. Aclaris’ lead product is A101, which is being tested for the treatment of both seborrheic keratosis and common warts. The former indication, which affects as many as 83 million people in the U.S, is through phase 2 testing, while the latter has completed phase 1 testing. Aclaris also has two clinical-stage trials for Alopecia Areata, using a topical treatment in one, and an oral alternative in another.

Disclosure: None