Larry Robbins’ Glenview Capital disclosed yesterday, in a Form 4 filed with the SEC, the acquisition of 4.11 million shares of VCA Inc (NASDAQ:WOOF)’s Common Stock. The stock was acquired through the exercise of in-the-money (or at-the-money) derivative securities, which expired on October 20, the date on which the transaction took place. Following this increase in its holdings in the company, the fund owns 12.8 million shares, which account for almost 15% of the company’s outstanding shares, and are worth more than half a billion dollars at current stock price.
Glenview Capital is a New York-based hedge fund founded by Larry Robbins in 2000. It currently has an equity portfolio worth more than $17 billion, mainly focused on healthcare stocks (36.2% of the total equity portfolio). Prior to founding Glenview Capital, Larry Robbins was a trader at Leon Cooperman’s Omega Advisors.
VCA Inc (NASDAQ:WOOF) is a $3.5 billion market cap provider of veterinary services and diagnostic testing to support veterinary care. The company also sells diagnostic imaging equipment and other medical technology products and related services to the veterinary market. Mr. Robbins has been bullish on VCA Inc (NASDAQ:WOOF) for a while now. A couple of months ago, we had reported a 45% increase in his bet on the company. He reiterated his vote of confidence on last Tuesday’s Robin Hood Investors Conference, where he said that he likes this company because the pet hospitals industry is slowly recuperating after the hit it took during and after the financial crisis of 2008-2009.
In addition to Mr. Robbins, some analyst firms are also incentivizing inverstors’ confidence in VCA Inc (NASDAQ:WOOF). For instance, Zacks upgraded the company from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report released last week. The firm set $42.80 price objective on the stock; the current price barely surpasses $41.05 per share.
Moreover, several other institutional investors are also betting on VCA Inc (NASDAQ:WOOF). Ricky Sandler’s Eminence Capital last disclosed a 7% increase its exposure to the company over the second quarter of the year, and now owns 5.19 million shares, D E Shaw upped its stake by the same percentage, having last declared ownership of 1.28 million shares, and Daniel S. Och’s OZ Management added 63% to its holdings at the company over the period, taking its holdings to more than 2.85 million shares of Common Stock.
Glenview Capital has had amazing returns over the years, and is thus worth tracking. VCA Inc (NASDAQ:WOOF) is up 31.8% year-to-date, compared with the S&P 500’s 5.64%. In fact, Mr. Robbins returned 18% in the first half of the year. Impressive, right?
Disclosure: Javier Hasse holds no positions in any stocks or funds mentioned
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