Baupost Group Trims Kindred Biosciences, Exits ChipMOS

Seth Klarman's investment firm Baupost Group has filed with the SEC regarding its positions in Kindred Biosciences (KIN) and ChipMOS Technologies (IMOS).


Trims Kindred Biosciences Stake

First, per a separately filed 13G, Baupost Group has also revealed they now own 4.85% of Kindred Biosciences (KIN) with 965,484 shares.

This is a decrease from their previous position of 3 million shares at the end of the second quarter.  The filing was made due to activity on October 31st.

We've previously highlighted other portfolio activity from Baupost Group here.

Per Google Finance, Kindred Biosciences is "a development-stage biopharmaceutical company. The Company is focused on developing therapies for pets. The Company's product pipeline consists of small molecules and biologics for a range of indications in dogs, cats and horses. The Company is developing product candidates for over 20 indications and focused on small molecule products and canine and feline biologics products. The Company is developing antibodies that targets canine Interleukin 17A (IL-17a), Interleukin 4A (IL-4Ra), Interleukin 3 (IL-3), CD-20, Immunoglobulin E (IgE), tumor necrosis factors (TNF) and other validated targets. The Company's lead product candidates are Zimeta, which is indicated for the treatment of fever in horses, and KIND-010 for management of weight loss in cats. The Company's other product candidates include KIND-010, KIND-014, KIND-015, KIND-510, KIND-502, KIND-0888, KIND-509, and several antibodies that target cytokines involved in atopic dermatitis."

Exits ChipMOS (Merger Closed)

Second, per an amended 13G, Klarman no longer owns any shares of ChipMOS (IMOS) as of October 31st.  A merger involving the company's shares recently closed.  Baupost previously owned 3.75 million shares at the end of the second quarter.

Per Google Finance, ChipMOS is "a provider of semiconductor assembly and test services. The Company provides testing and assembly services for liquid crystal display (LCD) and other flat-panel display driver semiconductors in Taiwan, and for memory and logic/mixed-signal products in Taiwan and Mainland China. The Company's business segments are testing services for memory and logic/mixed-signal semiconductors; assembly services for memory and logic/mixed-signal semiconductors; LCD and other flat-panel display driver semiconductor testing and assembly services, and bumping services for memory, logic/mixed-signal and LCD and other flat-panel display driver semiconductors. The Company provides testing services for a range of memory semiconductors, such as Static Random Access Memory (SRAM), Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM) and Flash memory. Its production facilities are located in Hsinchu and Tainan, Taiwan and Shanghai, Mainland China."

Baupost Group Starts Kindred Biosciences Stake, Trims Enzon Pharmaceuticals Position

Seth Klarman's investment firm Baupost Group has filed 2 separate 13G's with the SEC.

Discloses New Position in Kindred Biosciences (KIN)

Baupost has disclosed a brand new stake in Kindred Biosciences (KIN).  Per the SEC filing, the firm now owns 17.93% of the company with 2.9 million shares.  The filing was required due to portfolio activity on December 31st.  Shares of KIN just started trading in December.

Per Google Finance, Kindred Biosciences is "a development-stage biopharmaceutical company. The Company focused on pets. In addition, it has seven other product candidates, including several biologics, in various stages of development. The Company’s product candidates are CereKin for the treatment of osteoarthritis pain and inflammation in dogs, AtoKin for the treatment of atopic dermatitis in dogs, and SentiKin for the treatment of post-operative pain in dogs. All of these product candidates, if approved, would be first-in-class drugs in the pet therapeutic market. The Company’s product pipeline consists of small molecules and biologics in various stages of development for a range of indications in dogs, cats and horses. Small molecules are generally chemical compounds administered orally and biologics are generally proteins and vaccines administered by injection."


Trims Enzon Pharmaceuticals (ENZN) Stake

The hedge fund also filed an amended 13G on Enzon Pharmaceuticals (ENZN) and disclosed they've sold over 3.35 million shares recently.  The filing was required due to activity on December 31st.  After these sales, Baupost still owns 9.84% of ENZN with over 4.33 million shares.

Per Google Finance, Enzon Pharmaceuticals is "a biotechnology company. The Company’s drug development programs utilize two platforms: Customized PEGylation Linker Technology (Customized Linker Technology) and third-generation messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) antagonists utilizing the Locked Nucleic Acid (LNA) technology. The Company has four compounds in human clinical development, a PEGylated version of the active metabolite of the cancer drug, irinotecan, PEG-SN38, and mRNA antagonists Survivin and the Androgen Receptor (AR). In addition, it has mRNA antagonist targets in various stages of preclinical research. The Company receives royalty revenues from licensing arrangements with other companies related to sales of products developed using its Customized Linker Technology-PEGINTRON. It is also using LNA technology to develop mRNA antagonists against oncology targets."


While it's always interesting to monitor Baupost's equity activities, keep in mind that their long equity book is only a small portion of their large overall assets under management (AUM).  For more on this hedge fund, we've posted up some of Baupost's other portfolio activity here.