Some funds got back into Valeant after stock price tumbled

BOSTON, Feb 16 (Reuters) - Valeant Pharmaceuticals (N:VRX) got a
small shot in the arm late in 2015 when a number of big-name
investors made new bets or added to their existing positions at
a time when the embattled drug company's stock price was cheaper
than it had been in months.
In the last three months of 2015, hedge funds including
Philippe Laffont's Coatue Management, Barry Rosenstein's Jana
Partners, Laurion Capital Management and Okumus Capital made new
bets on Valeant, according to new filings released on Tuesday.
And holders including Viking Global Investors, Brave Warrior
and Hound Capital added to their positions, the releases, called
13-F filings, show. The filings detail what fund managers owned
at the end of the fourth quarter and while they are backward
looking, they are closely watched for hints on how hedge funds
moved.
Valeant became one of the most pummeled stocks late last
year when questions about its business practices and accounting
practices spooked investors and pushed the share price down some
70 percent from its August 2015 high. This year the stock price
has dropped 10.25 percent.
But with the share price having traded as low as $70 a
share, some investors felt Valeant, which made its name with
fast paced acquisitions, was on sale and ripe to be snapped up.
Jana, which had invested in Valeant earlier but got out in
time for the big drop, bought 1.6 million shares in the last
quarter. Coatue bought 1.7 million shares while Laurion bought
2.1 million shares.
Brahman Capital nearly doubled its holding to own 8.1
million shares at the end of the quarter while Viking added 2.8
million shares to own 7.8 million shares. Brave Warrior added
674,439 shares to own 6.2 million shares.
To be sure there were also investors who exited the stock
for good. Visium Asset Management and Maverick Capital exited
while Tiger Ratan sold 317,561 shares of the stock and added
300,000 shares of call options.