The $14 billion Pfizer drug deal is a nice win for a bunch of hedge funds

Julia La Roche
Micrograph of prostatic adenocarcinoma
Micrograph of prostatic adenocarcinoma (Image: Wikimedia Commons)

A number of hedge funds snapped up cancer drug maker Medivation’s stock during the second quarter possibly making for a nice win.

On Monday, Medivation’s (MDVN) stock surged around 20% after pharma giant Pfizer (PFE) said it would acquire the biotech company in a $14 billion deal. The stock was last trading up $13.33 at $80.50 per share.

Medivation just made its debut on Goldman Sachs’ 50 stocks that “matter most” to hedge funds list, ranking No. 17 on the list.

According to Goldman, 32 funds with 10 to 200 positions owned the stock as of the end of the second quarter. Of those funds, 23 held the stock as one of its top 10 long equity holdings, the report said.

Some hedge funds that opened a new position in Medivation during the second quarter include York Capital Management (5.07 million shares), Tourbillon Capital Partners (4.72 million shares), Pentwater Capital (4.28 million shares), and Eton Park Capital Management (3.08 million shares), 13-F filings show.

Meanwhile, hedge funds Adage Capital Partners and BlueMountain Capital Management increased their already existing position during the second quarter, the filings show.

Medivation investors are doing very well this year.
Medivation investors are doing very well this year.

Elsewhere, a number of hedge funds ditched their Pfizer positions during the second quarter.

Pfizer’s stock also debuted on Goldman Sachs’ 50 stocks representing “important short positions,” placing 23 on the bank’s list of popular hedge fund shorts in the second quarter.

Hedge funds only have to disclose their long equity holdings in 13-F filings. These filings come out 45 days after the end of each quarter, so it’s possible they could have traded in and out of these positions.

Julia La Roche is a finance reporter at Yahoo Finance.

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