The Healthcare Gurus at Baker Bros. Advisors Were Buying These Stocks in Q3

#3 Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL)

– Shares Held By Baker Bros. Advisors (as of September 30): 76,473

– Value of The Holding (as of September 30): 4.36 Million

Moving on, Baker Bros. Advisors sold all the convertible debt securities it held of Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL) during the third quarter, but increased its long position in the company by 91% during that time. Since the end of the first quarter, when Baker Bros. Advisors initiated its stake in the company, Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL) has rallied by over 300%. Most of the gains that the stock has seen have come after the FDA approved its flagship drug CABOMETYX for the treatment of patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC) in April. Since its launch, CABOMETYX has had phenomenal sales in the U.S. and has been aggressively taking market share from competing drugs like nivolumab and axitinib. For its most recent quarter, Exelixis reported a $0.04 loss per share on revenue of $62.19 million, beating analysts’ estimates by $0.09 and $19.33 million, respectively.

#2 Amarin Corporation plc (ADR) (NASDAQ:AMRN)

– Shares Held By Baker Bros. Advisors (as of September 30): 76,473

– Value of The Holding (as of September 30): 4.36 Million

The nearly 25-fold increase that Baker Bros. Advisors made to its stake in Amarin during the third quarter coupled with an over 50% rise in the company’s stock during that time pushed Amarin Corporation plc (ADR) (NASDAQ:AMRN) to the 18th-spot in the fund’s portfolio at the end of that period in terms of value. Amarin Corporation plc (ADR) (NASDAQ:AMRN)’s stock has appreciated by 83% so far in 2016, but is still down by more than 75% from the highs it made in mid-2011. Following the better-than-expected third quarter results that the company reported earlier this month, analysts at Jefferies Group reiterated their ‘Buy’ rating and $4.50 price target on the stock on November 4, suggesting potential upside of 27.47%.

#1 Aquinox Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:AQXP)

– Shares Held By Baker Bros. Advisors (as of September 30): 76,473

– Value of The Holding (as of September 30): 4.36 Million

With Baker Bros. Advisor upping its stake in Aquinox Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:AQXP) by 36% during the third quarter, the company jumped nine spots in the fund’s portfolio during that time to become its 11th-most valuable holding at the end of September. Baker Bros. Advisors has held a stake in Aquinox Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:AQXP) since its IPO in the first quarter of 2014. Shares of the clinical-stage pharmaceutical company have skyrocketed in the past two weeks and are now trading up by 15.87% year-to-date. On November 3, Aquinox reported its third quarter financial figures, declaring a loss of $0.46 per share versus analysts’ estimate of a loss of $0.58 per share. Last week, analysts at Leerink Swann reiterated their ‘Buy’ rating and $24 price target on the stock.

Disclosure: None