In this article, we discuss the top 10 stock picks of Srini Akkaraju and Michael Dybbs’ Samsara BioCapital. You can skip our detailed analysis of Akkaraju and Dybbs’ history, investment philosophy, and hedge fund performance, and go directly to the Top 5 Stock Picks of Srini Akkaraju and Michael Dybbs’ Samsara BioCapital.
Dr. Srinivas Akkaraju is the founder of Samsara BioCapital and also serves as the Managing Director of the firm. Prior to that, he served as a General Partner at Sofinnova Ventures from 2013 to 2016. Before that, he was serving as the Managing Director at New Leaf Partners. Previously he co-founded and also served as the Managing Director of a private equity firm, Panorama Capital.
Dr. Akkaraju also worked at J.P. Morgan Partners, which he joined in 2001 and later became a partner at the firm in 2005. He began his career at Genentech, Inc in 1998. Previous to Genentech, he received his M.D. and Ph.D. in immunology from Stanford University. He got his undergraduate degrees in Biochemistry and Computer Science from Rice University.
Michael Dybbs serves as a Partner at Samsara BioCapital alongside Dr. Srini Akkaraju. He received an A.B. from the University of Harvard in 1997 and received his Ph.D. in Molecular Biology at UC, Berkeley in 2005. Dybbs started his career in finance as a Principal at Boston Consulting Group, where he worked till 2009. After that, he joined New Leaf Partners as a Partner and served for 7 years till 2016. Prior to joining Samsara BioCapital, Michael Dybbs also served as a director on the board of Versartis, Inc., Advanced Cell Diagnostics, Principia Biopharma, and Dimension Therapeutics, Inc. He joined Samsara BioCapital in 2017.
In the portfolio of Samsara BioCapital, IVERIC bio, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISEE), Sutro Biopharma, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRO), and Forma Therapeutics Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:FMTX) are noteworthy stocks.
Photo by Nick Chong on Unsplash
Our Methodology
We used the third-quarter investment portfolio of Samsara BioCapital to make this list. The list was compiled according to the value of each holding in the investment portfolio.
Top 10 Stock Picks of Srini Akkaraju and Michael Dybbs’ Samsara BioCapital
10. Recursion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:RXRX)
Samsara BioCapital’s Stake Value: $17.32 million
Percentage of Samsara BioCapital’s 13F Portfolio: 2.71%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 13
Recursion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:RXRX) is a Utah-based clinical-stage biotech company that utilizes innovations in technology across a wide spectrum for drug discovery. The biotechnology firm is in strategic agreements with the likes of Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited (NYSE:TAK), Bayer, Chromaderm, Inc., and Ohio State Innovation Foundation. The company relies on its proprietary dataset and software called the Recursion Operating System which includes the Recursion Map.
According to the database of Insider Monkey, Benjamin A. Smith’s investment management firm, Laurion Capital Management, is the leading shareholder in Recursion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:RXRX) with 3.92 million shares worth $90.28 million, representing 0.38% of the portfolio. The second-biggest stakeholder in the firm is Catherine D. Wood’s ARK Investment Management with shares worth $59.68 million after it increased its activity in the company by 10% in the third quarter of 2021.
Recursion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:RXRX) is one of the top stock picks of Samsara BioCapital along with IVERIC bio, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISEE), Sutro Biopharma, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRO) and Forma Therapeutics Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:FMTX).
Baron Discovery Fund mentioned Recursion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:RXRX) in its second-quarter 2021 investor letter. Here is what it said:
“Recursion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a biotechnology company engaged in technology-enabled drug discovery. The company uses automated wet-lab infrastructure (actual biologic experimentation) with cell perturbations (multiple experiments done on the duplicate cells), and image capture to generate data at large scale. It also operates its own supercomputer (the “BioHive”) to drive “in-silico” (virtual, software-enabled) inferences based on its data and wet-lab experiments. This combined approach has generated a strong pipeline of programs spanning early discovery to clinical trials, including a collaboration deal with Bayer. The company’s use of artificial intelligence and machine learning lowers the cost of drug discovery and speeds up time to market, and we believe this paradigm is in the early innings of disrupting the entire biopharmaceutical industry. Since Recursion’s program pipeline is still relatively early stage, we have started with a small investment.”
9. Allakos Inc. (NASDAQ:ALLK)
Samsara BioCapital’s Stake Value: $18.21 million
Percentage of Samsara BioCapital’s 13F Portfolio: 2.85%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 15
Allakos Inc. (NASDAQ:ALLK) is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company that develops antibodies for the therapeutic treatment of allergies, inflammatory and other diseases. The firm’s clinical trials have been focused on diseases concerning the gastrointestinal tract.
On December 28, the price target of Allakos Inc. (NASDAQ:ALLK) was lowered from $230 to $20 by H.C. Wainwright analyst Patrick Trucchio who maintained a Buy rating on the shares, highlighting the firm’s announcement of the discouraging data in the different phase trials of the antibody called Lirentelimab.
According to the third quarter filings, Samsara BioCapital owned 172,089 shares in Allakos Inc. (NASDAQ:ALLK) worth $18.21 million, making up 2.85% of the fund’s portfolio. The fund also increased its activity in the firm by 18% in the same quarter.
8. Rain Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:RAIN)
Samsara BioCapital’s Stake Value: $23.5 million
Percentage of Samsara BioCapital’s 13F Portfolio: 3.68%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 11
Rain Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:RAIN) is a California-based clinical-stage biotech company. It utilizes the strategies of precision oncology to develop therapies against cancer.
As per the database of Insider Monkey, in the third quarter of 2021, San Francisco-based Biotechnology Value Fund is the leading shareholder in Rain Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:RAIN) after increasing its activity in the firm by 52% with 2.95 million shares worth $44.24 million.
7. IVERIC bio, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISEE)
Samsara BioCapital’s Stake Value: $23.75 million
Percentage of Samsara BioCapital’s 13F Portfolio: 3.72%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 38
IVERIC bio, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISEE) is a New Jersey-based biopharmaceutical company known for developing and discovering therapeutic treatments for retinal diseases. The company focuses on orphan inherited retinal diseases (IRDs) and retinal issues that are age-related.
On November 11, H.C. Wainwright analyst Matthew Caufield reiterated a Buy rating on IVERIC bio, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISEE) stock and raised the price target from $20 to $26, highlighting the possibility of approval of the investigational drug called Zimura.
6. Centessa Pharmaceuticals Limited (NASDAQ:CNTA)
Samsara BioCapital’s Stake Value: $25.67 million
Percentage of Samsara BioCapital’s 13F Portfolio: 4.02%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 13
Centessa Pharmaceuticals Limited (NASDAQ:CNTA) is a pharmaceuticals company focused on asset centricity. It was founded by Medicxi Ventures and has 10 subsidiaries. The company is running four clinical-stage programs focused on oncology, immunology, hematology, neuroscience, and other rare diseases.
The leading shareholder in Centessa Pharmaceuticals Limited (NASDAQ:CNTA) is Massachusetts-based RA Capital Management that increased its activity in the company by 180% in the third quarter. The firm owns 3.57 million shares worth $59.73 million as of the same quarter.
Apart from IVERIC bio, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISEE), Sutro Biopharma, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRO) and Forma Therapeutics Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:FMTX), Centessa Pharmaceuticals Limited (NASDAQ:CNTA) is a significant stock pick in the portfolio of Samsara BioCapital.
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Disclosure: None. Top 10 Stock Picks of Srini Akkaraju and Michael Dybbs’ Samsara BioCapital is originally published on Insider Monkey.
