Unilife Corp (NASDAQ:UNIS) and Anthera Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:ANTH) were among the stocks losing ground early this morning, though one of them has quickly rebounded to turn that frown upside down. The devil is in the details, so let’s dig into the details which have lead these companies to being actively-traded and scrutinized.
Unilife Corp is fading fast after its fourth quarter and full year fiscal 2015 financial results were released after the close of trading yesterday, falling by 9.09% this morning. The drug delivery system company reported revenues of $3.5 million for the fiscal fourth quarter ending on June 30, along with a net loss of $0.22 per share, representing a decline of 47.2% in its revenue and a 46.70% drop in its EPS on a year-over-year basis. Analysts were expecting a loss of $0.16 per share for the quarter. Additionally, Unilife Corp (NASDAQ:UNIS) reported revenues of $13.2 million for the full fiscal year 2015, a decline of 10.20% compared to fiscal year 2014, while its annual loss came in 37.30% higher at $0.81 per share.
The manufacturer of medical products has faced pressure from its shareholders to create more shareholder value in the past couple of months, suggesting the firm hire an advisor to help accomplish the task. The management of Unilife Corp addressed the issue by announcing Morgan Stanley & Co LLC as its new strategic advisor. According to the official announcement from the medical company, Unilife Corp will seek out “a possible sale of the Company, a strategic partnership with one or more parties or the licensing of some of the Company’s proprietary technologies.”
Investors have been very bearish on Unilife in 2015, with its stock declining by 60.83% year-to-date. However, the hedge funds that we track at Insider Monkey were slightly bullish outlook during the quarter ending June 30, perhaps finding an entry point amid the declines. The shares of Unilife Corp (NASDAQ:UNIS) dropped by 46.38% during the second quarter, but the aggregate holdings of the funds we track fell by just 40.35% to $8.38 million during that time, showing that hedge funds collectively added some shares to their portfolios, while ownership remained the same at eight funds. Israel Englander’s Millennium Management was the largest shareholder of the company in our database, owning 1.40 million shares valued at $3.01 million. Broadfin Capital and Raging Capital Management were its other major shareholders, having 1.15 million sharesand 714,820 shares, respectively.
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Anthera Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:ANTH) was trading lower this morning after the company’s partnership with Japanese medical company, Zenyaku, for the development of Blisimod was terminated. However, shares have strongly rebounded in early trading and are now up by over 1%, perhaps indicating that investors believe Anthera could score an even better deal in its place. The partnership will be terminated effective January 7, 2016, allowing the firm to regain worldwide rights for the clinical-stage treatment. Blisimod is developed for the treatment of lupus and IgA nephropathy, with positive results in the phase 1 and phase 2 clinical studies conducted on patients suffering from lupus. The primary reason for the termination was “disappointing” progress-rate of Blisimod under the leadership of Zenyaku. The company is planning to streamline the development process, including paying special attention towards the IgA nepropathy program.
The shares of Anthera Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:ANTH) have received an average rating of ‘Buy’ from analysts, with a short-term price target of $13.33, indicating upside potential of 76.56% from its current share price. The smart money was bearish on the stock of the medical company during the second quarter, with the aggregate holdings of hedge funds growing by 48.71% to $38.80 million, despite a 92.84% growth in its share price. Anthera Pharmaceuticals was in the equity portfolio of 11 hedge funds in our database, an improvement of two from the previous quarter. Broadfin Capital, led by Kevin Kotler, and Perceptive Advisors, led by Joseph Edelman, were among the major shareholders of the company, having 1.37 million shares and 1.20 million shares in their portfolio, respectively.
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