Bridger Capital Boosts Pacific Biosciences of California Stake

Roberto Mignone's hedge fund firm Bridger Capital has filed a 13G with the SEC regarding their position in Pacific Biosciences of California (PACB).

Per the filing, Bridger now owns 5.1% of the company with over 4.46 million shares.  The filing was made due to activity on April 15th.  This is up from the 2.15 million shares they owned at the end of 2015.

Per Google Finance, Pacific Biosciences of California is "designs, develops and manufactures sequencing systems to help scientists resolve genetically complex problems. The Company's Single Molecule, Real-Time (SMRT) technology enables single molecule, real-time detection of biological processes. Based on its SMRT technology, the Company has introduced the PacBio RS II System. It offers The SMRT Cell, Phospholinked nucleotides and The PacBio RS II and Sequel instruments. Based on the Company's SMRT sequencing technology, its products enable de novo genome assembly to finish genomes in order to identify, annotate and decipher genomic structures; full-length transcript analysis to improve annotations in reference genomes, characterize alternatively spliced isoforms and find genes; targeted sequencing to characterize genetic variations, and deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) base modification identification to help characterize epigenetic regulation and DNA damage.."

Bridger Capital Adds to ChannelAdvisor Position

Recently, we highlighted Bridger Capital's new stake in ChannelAdvisor (ECOM).  Roberto Mignone's firm has just filed an amended 13G with the SEC regarding their position.

Per the filing, Bridger now owns 8.8% of the company with over 2.17 million shares.  They've increased their position by 970,993 shares and the filing was made due to activity on August 5th.  Shares have fallen from $23 recently down to around $15 and they've utilized the dip to add to their stake.

Per Google Finance, ChannelAdvisor is "a provider of software-as-a-service, or SaaS, solutions that enables retailers and manufacturer customers to integrate, manage and optimize their merchandise sales across hundreds of online channels. Through the Company’s platform, the Company enables its customers to connect with new and existing sources of demand for their products, including e-commerce marketplaces, such as eBay, Amazon and Newegg, search engines and comparison shopping websites, such as Google, Microsoft’s Bing, and Nextag, and emerging channels, such as Facebook and Groupon."

Bridger Capital Discloses ChannelAdvisor Stake

Roberto Mignone's hedge fund Bridger Capital has filed a 13G with the SEC regarding shares of ChannelAdvisor (ECOM). Per the filing, Bridger has disclosed they own 6.8% of the company with 1,670,993 shares.

This is a newly disclosed equity stake and the filing was made due to activity on July 22nd.  You can view other portfolio activity from Bridger this year here.

Per Google Finance, ChannelAdvisor is "a provider of software-as-a-service, or SaaS, solutions that enables retailers and manufacturer customers to integrate, manage and optimize their merchandise sales across hundreds of online channels. Through the Company’s platform, the Company enables its customers to connect with new and existing sources of demand for their products, including e-commerce marketplaces, such as eBay, Amazon and Newegg, search engines and comparison shopping websites, such as Google, Microsoft’s Bing, and Nextag, and emerging channels, such as Facebook and Groupon."

Bridger Capital Starts New TrovaGene Stake

Roberto Mignone's hedge fund firm Bridger Capital filed a 13G and Form 3 with the SEC regarding shares of TrovaGene (TROV).  Per the filing, Bridger has disclosed an 11.9% ownership stake in TROV with 2,142,857 shares.

This is a brand new position for the hedge fund and the filing was required due to portfolio activity on July 30th. 

The company recently closed a registered direct offering of $15 million in common stock at $7 per share to an 'unnamed institutional investor.'  Doing the math on Bridger's share count above, it appears as though Bridger is that investor.

Per Google Finance, TrovaGene is "a development-stage molecular diagnostic company that focuses on the development and marketing of urine-based nucleic acid tests for patient/disease screening and monitoring. The Company's novel tests predominantly use transrenal DNA (Tr-DNA) and transrenal RNA (Tr-RNA). The Company's technology is used to all transrenal nucleic acids (Tr-NA). The Company’s urine-based test addresses market needs, such as women’s healthcare-fetal medicine-down syndrome, infectious diseases, cancer testing, transplantation, drug development and monitoring of therapeutic outcomes, ultra-sensitive analytical and detection system, technologies for the collection, shipment and storage of urine specimens, and transrenal nucleic acid extraction, and instrumentation/system platform."

Bridger Management Boosts Wright Medical Group Position

Roberto Mignone's hedge fund firm Bridger Management recently filed a 13G with the SEC regarding Wright Medical Group (WMGI).  Per the filing, they have disclosed a 5.1% ownership stake in WMGI with 2,000,000 shares.

This marks an increase of 40% in their position size since the end of the second quarter.  Do note that this filing is made due to portfolio activity on August 22nd, so the filing seems to be a bit delayed.

Bridger is known for its focus on health-related plays and this stake certainly fits that mold.

Per Google Finance, Wright Medical Group is "a global orthopaedic medical device company specializing in the design, manufacture and marketing of devices and biologic products for extremity, hip and knee repair and reconstruction. The Company is provider of surgical solutions for the foot and ankle market. It offers products in four primary market sectors: extremity reconstruction, biologics, knee reconstruction and hip reconstruction."

Roberto Mignone's Bridger Management Buys More United Rentals (URI)

In a 13G filed with the SEC, Roberto Mignone's hedge fund Bridger Management has disclosed a 5.2% ownership stake in United Rentals (URI) with 3,241,704 shares.

This marks a 60% increase in their position size since the end of the second quarter. Bridger Management now owns just over 3.2 million shares of URI due to portfolio activity on August 8th.

Per Google Finance, United Rentals "is an equipment rental company and its network consists of 531 rental locations in the United States and Canada. United Rentals offers approximately 2,900 classes of equipment for rent to customers that include construction and industrial companies, manufacturers, utilities, municipalities, homeowners and government entities."

To see the rest of this hedge fund's investments, head to the brand new issue of our premium newsletter.

Roberto Mignone Buys Cott (COT)

Roberto Mignone's hedge fund firm Bridger Management just filed a 13G with the SEC regarding shares of Cott (COT). Due to portfolio activity on February 25th, Bridger has disclosed a 6.8% ownership stake in COT with 6,400,000 shares. This is a brand new position for the hedge fund and you can see the rest of Bridger's investments here.

This is now the second major hedge fund to invest in Cott over the past few months. As we've previously singled out, David Gallo's Valinor Management started a stake in the company back in December and recently increased its Cott position. The interesting thing here is that prior to founding Valinor, Gallo worked at Bridger. As such, the fact that both hedge funds have recently acquired positions in the same company isn't that surprising.

The other unique aspect of this investment is that shares are largely trading around the levels where these managers purchased COT. While disclosures filed with the SEC are time-lagged and on a slightly delayed basis, this is a rare opportunity where shares haven't been massively bid up from the level where the hedge fund established a position.

COT recently reported earnings largely in-line with estimates. Analysts are expecting continued margin pressures (cost inflation) at the company. On the positive side, they also expect increased synergies and the pay-down of debt to help offset this.

Per Google Finance, Cott Corp is "a non-alcoholic beverage company and a retailer brand soft drink provider. In addition to carbonated soft drinks (CSDs), its product includes clear, still and sparkling flavored waters, juice-based products, bottled water, energy-related drinks and ready-to-drink teas."

Bridger Management Boosts Stake In Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (IRWD)

Roberto Mignone's hedge fund Bridger Management just filed a 13G with the SEC regarding shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (IRWD). Due to portfolio activity on December 9th, Bridger has disclosed a 5.1% ownership stake in the company with 2,390,679 shares.

This marks an increase in Mignone's position size to the tune of 483%. Bridger Management previously owned only 410,000 shares at the end of the third quarter. Roberto Mignone worked at Blue Ridge Capital and Tiger Management before founding Bridger and earned both his undergraduate degree and MBA from Harvard. You can scroll through all our previous coverage of Bridger Management here.

Per Google Finance, Ironwood Pharmaceuticals " formerly Microbia, Inc. is an entrepreneurial pharmaceutical company that discovers, develops and focuses to commercialize medicines targeting important therapeutic needs. The Company operates in two segments: human therapeutics and biomanufacturing."

Hedge Fund Bridger Management Boosts XenoPort (XNPT) Position

Roberto Mignone's hedge fund Bridger Management filed a 13G with the SEC after market close today regarding shares of XenoPort (XNPT). Due to portfolio activity on July 7th, Bridger has disclosed a 6.6% ownership stake in XNPT with 2,000,000 shares. This marks a 42.8% increase in their position size as they previously owned 1,400,000 shares back on March 31st, 2010.

In past coverage, we've seen a divergence of opinion regarding XenoPort amongst hedge funds. Back in May of this year, Steve Cohen's hedge fund SAC Capital showed a XNPT stake while Lee Ainslie's Maverick Capital sold out of the name back in the first quarter. Shares of XenoPort have recently sold off hard from $9 per share down to now around $6.

Prior to founding Bridger Management, Mignone co-founded Blue Ridge Capital with John Griffin. Before that, he worked at Julian Robertson's Tiger Management and Mignone received both his undergraduate degree and MBA from Harvard. Other recent portfolio maneuvering we've seen from Bridger includes adding to their iStar Financial stake. Mignone also in the past has detailed his investment thoughts for 2010 at a hedge fund panel.

Taken from Google Finance, Xenoport is "a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing a portfolio of internally discovered product candidates, which utilizes the body’s natural nutrient transport mechanisms to improve the therapeutic benefits of existing drugs".

For more on Roberto Mignone's hedge fund, head to other recent portfolio activity from Bridger.

Hedge Fund Bridger Management Boosts iStar Financial (SFI) Position

In a 13G filed with the SEC due to activity on May 20th, Roberto Mignone's hedge fund Bridger Management has disclosed an updated stake in iStar Financial (SFI). Per the filing, Bridger now shows a 5.6% ownership stake with 5,190,000 shares. This is a slight increase in their position because Mignone's hedge fund owned 4,690,000 as of March 31st when we detailed Bridger's portfolio. This means that over the past two months, they've added an additional 500,000 shares (a 10.66% boost in position size).

Mignone received his degree from Harvard and his MBA from Harvard Business School. He founded Bridger after previously founding Blue Ridge Capital with John Griffin and working at Julian Robertson's Tiger Management before that. In terms of other recent portfolio activity from his hedge fund, Mignone recently revealed two new positions. Additionally, we'd previously detailed some of his investment thoughts for 2010 from a hedge fund panel.

Taken from Google Finance, iStar Financial is a "finance company focused on the commercial real estate industry. The Company primarily provides financing to high-end private and corporate owners of real estate, including senior and mezzanine real estate debt, senior and mezzanine corporate capital, as well as corporate net lease financing and equity."

For more of Mignone's investments, head to our coverage of Bridger's portfolio.

Roberto Mignone's Bridger Management Adds Financials, Exits 'Hedge Fund Favorite' Names: 13F Filing

(This post is part of our series on tracking hedge fund portfolios. If you're unfamiliar with tracking investments they disclose via SEC filings, check out our series preface on hedge fund filings.)

Next up is Roberto Mignone's hedge fund Bridger Management. Bridger focuses on long/short equity and event driven strategies (which you'll see evidence of in their portfolio below). Last we heard, Bridger has just under $3 billion in assets under management and is closed to new investors because Mignone likes to focus on investing rather than running a large organization. Not to mention, he argues that once you garner too large of an AUM pool, you can't have a short portfolio of complementary size. After all, Mignone is known for his sleuthing abilities on the short side. Previously, we had detailed some of his investment thoughts for 2010 from a hedge fund panel.

Before founding Bridger, Mignone co-founded Blue Ridge Capital with John Griffin in 1996, another hedge fund we track here on the site. And before that, both Mignone and Griffin worked at Julian Robertson's legendary Tiger Management. As such, they are both 'Tiger Cub' hedge funds. Mignone received his degree from Harvard and his MBA from Harvard Business School. In terms of recent portfolio activity disclosed after the date of the filing's we're covering, Bridger revealed two new positions.

The positions listed below were Bridger's long equity, note, and options holdings as of March 31st, 2010 as filed with the SEC. All holdings are common stock unless otherwise denoted:


Brand New Positions
Centene (CNC) ~ we detailed the specifics of this stake when they first disclosed it
Genpact (G)
Waters (WAT)
Iesi-Bfc (BIN)
JPMorgan Chase (JPM)
Goldman Sachs (GS)
Marriott (MAR)
Red Hat (RHT)
XTO Energy (XTO)
Comerica (CMA)
AMR (AMR)
Fuel Systems (FSYS)
Istar Financial (SFI)
Medifast (MED) ~ we detailed the specifics of this new position earlier
Marshall & Ilsley (MI)
Key Corp (KEY)
Suntrust Bank (STI)
Xenoport (XNPT)
Cathay Gen Bancorp (CATY)
Wonder Auto Tech (WATG)
Popular (BPOP)
Bristol Myers Squibb (BMY)
Carefusion (CFN)
Macquarie (MIC)
Iberiabank (IBKC)
Nektar Therapeut (NKTR)
Acorda (ACOR)
Immunogen (IMGN)
Glacier Bancorp (GBCI)
Amedisys (AMED) Puts


Increased Positions
Morgan Stanley (MS): Increased position size by 150%
Electronic Arts (ERTS): Increased by 73.8%
Regions Financial (RF): Increased position by 72.7%
Casella Waste Systems (CWST): Increased position by 48.6%
Davita (DVA): Increased position by 33%
State Street (STT): Increased position by 32.9%
Exxon Mobil (XOM): Increased position by 30.8%
Boston Scientific (BSX): Increased position by 26.6%
Synovus Financial (SNV): Increased position by 20.5%
Waste Connections (WCN): Increased position by 19.3%


Reduced Positions
Aetna (AET): Reduced by 70%
Life Tech (LIFE): Reduced by 67.8%
Millipore (MIL): Reduced by 42%
Eclipsys (ECLP): Reduced by 39.6%
OSI Pharmaceuticals (ONXX): Reduced by 33.6%
Jazz Pharmaceuticals (JAZZ): Reduced by 28.1%
Biogen Idec (BIIB): Reduced by 17.6%


Positions They Sold Out of Completely
Royal Carribean (RCL)
Apple (AAPL)
First American (FAF)
Microsoft (MSFT)
Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (GMCR)
Amerigroup (AGP)
Allergan (AGN)
Republic Service (RSG)
Warner Chilcott (WCRX)
Expedia (EXPE)
United Therapeutics (UTHR)
Talecris Biotherapeutics (TLCR)
Ritchie Bros (RBA)
Mannkind (MNKD)
Mako Surgical (MAKO)
Petmed (PETS)
Ehealth (EHTH)
Given Imaging (GIVN)
Sanderson Farms (SAFM)
CIT Group (CIT)
Amylin Pharmaceuticals (AMLN) Puts


Top 15 Holdings (by percentage of assets reported on 13F filing)

1. Waste Connections (WCN): 3.4%
2. Pall (PLL): 3.3%
3. Covidien (COV): 3.1%
4. Cardinal Health (CAH): 3%
5. Medtronic (MDT): 3%
6. Dr Pepper Snapple (DPS): 3%
7. Centene (CNC): 2.9%
8. Morgan Stanley (MS): 2.9%
9. Amgen (AMGN): 2.8%
10. Unitedhealthcare (UNH): 2.4%
11. Millipore (MIL): 2.4%
12. Las Vegas Sands (LVS): 2.3%
13. Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A): 2.3%
14. Hyatt Hotels (H): 2.3%
15. Genpact (G): 2.2%

In the first quarter, we saw Bridger completely sell out of a few names that are typically hedge fund favorites which was interesting. They exited Apple, Microsoft, CIT Group, and Green Mountain Coffee Roasters. Many of these names are on Goldman Sachs VIP list of the stocks most important to hedge funds. Other positions Bridger also sold sizable partial positions in include Aetna, Life Tech, and Eclipsys.

In terms of additions, we already knew about their new Centene position, but now you see how large it is in the context of their overall portfolio. Not to mention, their new ownership of Genpact (G) is notable too as it's their fifteenth largest US equity long. They also added to exiting position Waste Connections, which is now their largest holding. We also make note of their addition in shares of Electronic Arts. Just yesterday we examined Chase Coleman's hedge fund Tiger Global and saw they were clearly bullish on ERTS.

And while Bridger's large focus is on the health space, you obviously see many financial plays scattered in their portfolio. They were adding to regional banks like Regions and Synovus in the first quarter and added shares of big banking plays as well, like JPMorgan Chase and Morgan Stanley.

Assets reported on Bridger's 13F filing were $2.5 billion this quarter. Data from the SEC is aggregated and sorted automatically by Alphaclone, our source for hedge fund tracking, replicating, and performance backtesting (Market Folly readers can receive a special free 30 day trial). Remember that these filings are not representative of the hedge fund's entire base of AUM.

This post is part of our daily hedge fund portfolio tracking series. We've already detailed activity from numerous managers so click the links below to be taken to the respective portfolio updates: Seth Klarman's Baupost Group, Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, Stephen Mandel's Lone Pine Capital, and Bill Ackman's Pershing Square, David Einhorn's Greenlight Capital, Eddie Lampert's RBS Partners, David Tepper's Appaloosa Management, Mohnish Pabrai's Investment Fund, John Griffin's Blue Ridge Capital, Lee Ainslie's Maverick Capital, Bruce Berkowitz's Fairholme Capital Management, Andreas Halvorsen's Viking Global, Dan Loeb's Third Point, John Paulson's hedge fund Paulson & Co, and Chase Coleman's Tiger Global. Be sure to check back daily for new hedge fund updates.

Roberto Mignone's Bridger Management Starts 2 New Positions

Roberto Mignone's hedge fund Bridger Management recently filed 13G's on The Princeton Review (REVU) and Medifast (MED). Due to activity on April 15th, Bridger Management has disclosed a 6.3% ownership stake in The Princeton Review (REVU) with 3,000,000 shares. Secondly, due to activity on April 16th, Roberto Mignone's hedge fund has disclosed a 5.1% ownership stake in Medifast (MED) with 787,144 shares. This position is interesting because back in March we revealed that Steven Cohen's hedge fund SAC Capital started a new position in MED. So, we now have two prominent hedge funds invested in this company.

The Princeton Review and Medifast are both brand new positions for Mignone's hedge fund as they did not own shares on December 31st when we detailed Bridger Management's portfolio. Somewhere in the last three and a half months they've assembled these stakes. In terms of other recent portfolio activity, we made note a few weeks ago of Bridger's new stake in Centene (CNC) as well.

Bridger is a $2.8 billion hedge fund focused on long/short & event driven strategies and often focus on healthcare related names. Prior to founding Bridger, Mignone co-founded Blue Ridge Capital with John Griffin in 1996. For more insight from Bridger, head to Mignone's thoughts at a previous hedge fund panel.

Taken from Google Finance, The Princeton Review is "a provider of classroom-based, print and online education products and services targeting the high school and post-secondary markets."

Medifast is "engaged in the production, distribution, and sale of weight management and disease management products and other consumable health and diet products. The product lines include weight and disease management, meal replacement, and vitamins. "

You can view the rest of Bridger Management's portfolio here.

Roberto Mignone & Bridger Management Disclose New Position

Roberto Mignone's hedge fund firm Bridger Management has filed a 13G with the SEC in regards to shares of Centene Corporation (CNC). The filing was made due to activity on March 18th, 2010 and they now disclose a 5.4% ownership stake in Centene with 2,784,800 shares. This is a brand new position for them as they previously did not own shares when we looked at Bridger's portfolio that reflected their positions as of December 31st, 2009. So, they've assembled their new holding over the course of the past three months.

Bridger is a $2.8 billion long/short equity hedge fund currently closed to new investors and are known for their sleuthing prowess on the short side of the portfolio. Prior to founding Bridger, Mignone co-founded Blue Ridge Capital with John Griffin in 1996, another hedge fund we track here on the site. For investment insight from Roberto Mignone, we've previously detailed some of his thoughts for 2010 from a hedge fund panel. Additionally, we've previously covered Bridger's new position in Casella Waste Systems (CWST) as well.

Taken from Google Finance, Centene is "a multi-line healthcare company. The Company operates in two business segments: Medicaid Managed Care and Specialty Services. The Medicaid Managed Care segment provides Medicaid and Medicaid-related health plan coverage to individuals through government subsidized programs. The Specialty Services segment provides specialty services, including behavioral health, individual health insurance, life and health management, long-term care programs, managed vision, telehealth services, and pharmacy benefits management."

As you can see, this company falls right in Bridger's health niche. For more on Mignone's hedge fund, head to our coverage of Bridger Management's portfolio.

Roberto Mignone's Bridger Management Bullish On Healthcare: 13F Filing

(This post is part of our series on tracking hedge fund portfolios. If you're unfamiliar with tracking investments they disclose via SEC filings, check out our series preface on hedge fund 13F filings.)

Next up is Roberto Mignone's hedge fund Bridger Management. They focus on both long/short and event driven strategies which you'll see evidence of in their portfolio below. Bridger has $2.8 billion in assets under management and is closed to new investors. Mignone likes to focus on investing rather than running a large organization. Not to mention, he argues that once you get 'too big' in AUM, you can't have a complementary short portfolio of necessary size. After all, Mignone is known for his sleuthing abilities on the short side of the book. Previously, we had detailed some of his investment thoughts for 2010 from a hedge fund panel.

Before Bridger, Mignone co-founded Blue Ridge Capital with John Griffin in 1996. And before that, Mignone (like Griffin) worked at Julian Robertson's Tiger Management, joining the ranks of other prominent 'Tiger Cub' hedge funds. Mignone received his degree from Harvard and his MBA from Harvard Business School.

The positions listed below were Bridger's long equity, note, and options holdings as of December 31st, 2009 as filed with the SEC. All holdings are common stock unless otherwise denoted.


Brand New Positions
Medtronic (MDT)
Pfizer (PFE)
Hyatt Hotels (H)
Amerigroup (AGP)
State Street (STT)
Rino (RINO)
Aetna (AET)
Boyd Gaming (BYD)
Teekay (TK)
Synovus Financial (SNV)
China Real Estate Information (CRIC)
Talecris Biotherapeutics (TLCR)
Mannkind (MNKD)
Regions Financial (RF)
The rest of their new positions were each less than 0.25% of reported holdings, so much smaller stakes:
Casella Waste Systems (CWST) ~ a new position we'd already detailed, Amylin Pharmaceuticals (AMLN) Puts, Crucell (CRXL), Enhealth (EHTH), Given Imaging (GIVN) & Sanderson Farms (SAFM)


Increased Positions
Cardinal Health (CAH): Increased by 150%
Warner Chilcott (WCRX): Increased by 120%
Las Vegas Sands (LVS): Increased by 111.5%
Amgen (AMGN): Increased by 109.7%
Pall (PLL): Increased by 92.3%
Electronic Arts (ERTS): Increased by 75%
Onyx Pharmaceuticals (ONXX): Increased by 66.4%
Cardiome Pharma (CRME): Increased by 51.9%
OSI Pharma (OSIP): Increased by 48.8%
Waste Connections (WCN): Increased by 41.7%
Gilead Sciences (GILD): Increased by 40%
Ebay (EBAY): Increased by 31.1%
Unitedhealth (UNH): Increased by 28.9%
Royal Carribean (RCL): Increased by 18.9%


Reduced Positions
Davita (DVA): Reduced by 84.6%
Expedia (EXPE): Reduced by 78.2%
Ritchie Bros (RBA): Reduced by 70.3%
Eclipsys (ECLP): Reduced by 58.8%
Allergan (AGN): Reduced by 14%


Removed Positions (Sold out completely):
Ameriprise Financial (AMP)
Wyeth (WYE)
International Game Technology (IGT)
Invesco (IVZ) Copart (CPRT)
Continental Airlines (CAL)
Watson Pharma (WPI)
MGM Mirage (MGM)
Schering Plough (SGP)
Cablevision (CVC)
Monsanto (MON)
Allegiant Travel (ALGT)
Cigna (CI)
Schering Plough (SGP-PB)
Amylin Pharma (AMLN) Calls
Airtran Holdings (AAI)
Illumina (ILMN)
American Express (AXP)
Brunswick (BC)
Trimeris (TRMS)


Top 15 Holdings by percentage of assets reported on 13F filing

1. Covidien (COV): 3.76%
   
2. Medtronic (MDT): 3.41%
   
3. Amgen (AMGN): 3.35%
   
4. Pall Corp (PLL): 3.30%
   
5. Millipore (MIL): 3.30%
   
6. Waste Connections (WCN): 3.21%
   
7. Cardinal Health (CAH): 3.03%
   
8. Dr Pepper Snapple (DPS): 2.77%
   
9. Unitedhealth (UNH): 2.32%
   
10. Carmax (KMX): 2.21%
    
11. Pfizer (PFE): 2.2%
    
12. Royal Caribbean (RCL): 2.18%
    
13. Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A): 2.17%
    
14. Apple (AAPL): 2.16%
    
15. First American (FAF): 2.11%
    

Hedge fund Bridger Management doesn't have any overwhelmingly massive positions as you can see. Overall, they boosted exposure to healthcare and reduced exposure to services and technology. This falls in line with Goldman Sachs' research that showed hedge funds reducing tech holdings. Mignone likes health plays as he says there is a huge margin of safety.

Mignone's hedge fund started a massive new stake in Medtronic (MDT) as it is their 2nd largest US equity long now. They also bought a new position in Pfizer (PFE), something we've seen many hedge funds do as of late. In terms of positions they already owned but added to, Bridger doubled down on their Amgen stake and almost doubled their position in Pall too. Both those positions are in their top five reported holdings as well. We also want to highlight that Bridger could be set for a big payday on shares of Millipore (MIL). The company has been exploring strategic takeover maneuvers and there were rumors they had received a bid from Thermo Fisher Scientific that sent shares soaring earlier this week. Hedge fund Blue Ridge Capital also has a sizable MIL stake.

The event driven portion of their portfolio is evident in their 'sales' of Wyeth and Schering Plough. They no longer show those positions because they completed their respective mergers. While they didn't do much selling with their core holdings, they did completely sell out of previously sizable positions in Ameriprise Financial, International Game Technology and Invesco. That wraps up all the major moves. For investment insight from Bridger's manager Roberto Mignone, check out his thoughts at a recent hedge fund panel.

Data used for this article comes from Alphaclone, our source for backtesting strategies and sorting through all the hedge fund portfolio maneuvers with ease. Assets reported on the 13F filing were $2.19 billion this quarter compared to $2.10 billion last quarter. Remember that these filings are not representative of the hedge fund's entire base of AUM.

We'll be tracking 40+ prominent funds in our fourth quarter 2009 hedge fund portfolio tracking series. We've already covered Seth Klarman's Baupost Group, Mohnish Pabrai's Investment Fund, Carl Icahn's hedge fund Icahn Partners, David Einhorn's Greenlight Capital, Stephen Mandel's Lone Pine Capital, John Griffin's Blue Ridge Capital, David Tepper's Appaloosa Management, Warren Buffett's portfolio, John Paulson's hedge fund Paulson & Co, Lee Ainslie's Maverick Capital, Dan Loeb's Third Point, Eddie Lampert's RBS Partners, David Ott's Viking Global, and Chris Shumway's hedge fund Shumway Capital Partners, Chase Coleman's Tiger Global, and Philip Falcone's Harbinger Capital Partners. Check back daily for our new updates.

Hedge Fund Bridger Management Discloses New Position

In a 13G filed with the SEC, Roberto Mignone's hedge fund Bridger Management has disclosed a new position in Casella Waste Systems (CWST). The filing was made due to activity on January 13th, 2010 and they now have a 5.2% ownership stake in the company with 1,282,893 shares. This is a brand new position for them, as they did not own it when we last covered Bridger's portfolio. Interestingly enough, this is not Bridger's first waste related investment. When we looked at their long positions, we noticed that Waste Connections (WCN) was one of their larger US equity holdings. We'll have to see if they are starting to play a theme here when the new comprehensive portfolio disclosures (13F filings) are released here in a few weeks.

Before Bridger, Mignone co-founded hedge fund Blue Ridge Capital with John Griffin in 1996. And before that, Mignone (like Griffin) worked at Julian Robertson's Tiger Management. As such, he joins the ranks of other prominent 'Tiger Cub' hedge funds. Mignone received his degree from Harvard and his MBA from Harvard Business School. Our other previous coverage of Bridger is limited to posting about their position in Cardiome Pharma (CRME). We've just started to track them and as such will continue posting updates going forward.

Taken from Google Finance, Casella Waste Systems is "is a vertically integrated company. The Company provides resource management services to residential, commercial, municipal and industrial customers, primarily in the areas of solid waste collection, transfer, disposal and recycling services. It operates in 14 states."

Roberto Mignone's Hedge Fund Bridger Management Added Tons Of Long Exposure In Q3

This is the third quarter 2009 edition of our hedge fund portfolio tracking series. If you're unfamiliar with tracking hedge fund movements or SEC filings, check out our series preface on hedge fund 13F filings.

This is the first time we've covered Bridger Management in our 13F analysis series. Bridger Management is the hedge fund firm founded by Roberto Mignone in 2000. They currently have around $4 billion in assets under management and run a long/short equity and event driven strategy focused on intensive fundamental research. Before Bridger, Mignone co-founded Blue Ridge Capital with John Griffin in 1996. And before that, Mignone (like Griffin) worked at Julian Robertson's Tiger Management and as such joins the ranks of other prominent 'Tiger Cub' hedge funds. Mignone received his degree from Harvard and his MBA from Harvard Business School. Our only previous coverage of Bridger includes their position in Cardiome Pharma (CRME).

Keep in mind that the positions listed below were Bridger's long equity, note, and options holdings as of September 30th, 2009 as filed with the SEC. We don't cover every single portfolio maneuver, as we instead focus on all the big moves. All holdings are common stock unless otherwise denoted.


Some New Positions
Brand new positions that they initiated last quarter:
Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A)
Waste Connections (WCN)
Carmax (KMX)
Apple (AAPL)
Exxon Mobil (XOM)
International Game Technology (IGT)
Royal Caribbean (RCL)
Intel (INTC)
Invesco (IVZ)
Amgen (AMGN)
Microsoft (MSFT)
Immucor (BLUD)
Copart (CPRT)
Boston Scientific (BSX)
Pall (PLL)
Continental Airlines (CAL)
Ebay (EBAY)
Republic Services (RSG)
Watson Pharmaceuticals (WPI)
Biogen Idec (BIIB)
Penn National Gaming (PENN)
Cablevision (CVC)
US Airways (LCC)
Cardinal Health (CAH)
Monsanto (MON)
Pennymac Mortgage (PMT) ~ This is interesting because fellow hedge fund Blue Ridge Capital (Mignone's former fund) also has a position.
Las Vegas Sands (LVS)


Some Increased Positions
Positions they already owned but added shares to:
UnitedHealth (UNH): Increased position by 419.6%
Bally Technologies (BYI): Increased by 322.2%
Millipore (MIL): Increased by 158.7%
OSI Pharmaceuticals (OSIP): Increased by 100%
Hertz Global (HTZ): Increased by 77.7%
First America (FAF): Increased by 64.7%
Davita (DVA): Increased by 30%


Some Reduced Positions
Stakes they sold shares in but still own:
Schering Plough (SGP): Reduced position by 58.2%
Life Technologies (LIFE): Reduced by 32.3%
MGM Mirage (MGM): Reduced by 27.6%


Removed Positions
Positions they sold out of completely:
Zimmer Holdings (ZMH)
Sysco (SYY)
Staples (SPLS)
Bank of America (BAC)
Transocean (RIG)
Conoco Phillips (COP)
Cisco Systems (CSCO)
Plains Exploration (PXP)
Arch Coal (ACI)
Host Hotels (HST)
Liveperson (LPSN)
Waters (WAT)
Olin (OLN)
Tyson Foods (TSN)


Top 15 Holdings by percentage of assets reported on 13F filing

1. Covidien (COV): 3.81%
2. Millipore (MIL): 3.25%
3. Expedia (EXPE): 3.04%
4. Dr Pepper Snapple (DPS): 2.94%
5. Ameriprise Financial (AMP): 2.59%
6. Wyeth (WYE): 2.53%
7. Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A): 2.31%
8. First America Corp (FAF): 2.16%
9. Waste Connections (WCN): 2.05%
10. Carmax (KMX): 1.99%
11. Apple (AAPL): 1.99%
12. Ritchie Bros Auction (RBA): 1.97%
13. Exxon Mobil (XOM): 1.96%
14. Avis Budget (CAR): 1.91%
15. International Game Technology (IGT): 1.84%
    

Hedge fund Bridger Management was out adding a ton of brand new positions in the third quarter. After all, their assets invested in long US equities increased by almost $1 billion. Literally six of their top 15 holdings were brand new stakes including Berkshire Hathaway, Waste Connections, Carmax, Apple, Exxon Mobil, and International Game Technology. This fits directly with the theme we've seen of hedge funds being very long equities.

Bridger also added heavily to existing positions in UnitedHealth, Bally Technologies, and Millipore. We want to single out Millipore because Mignone's old firm, Blue Ridge Capital also has held a position in MIL for quite some time. It's interesting to see the portfolio overlap between Bridger and Blue Ridge, as well as other funds. Of all the Tiger Cub hedge funds, we'd venture to say that Bridger has one of the more individualistic portfolios in terms of top holdings. Don't get us wrong, they still share similar positions with other Tiger Cub hedge funds, but unlike those funds, Bridger does not hold them as top positions. Check out Blue Ridge's portfolio to see the similarities and differences. In terms of names Mignone's hedge fund sold completely out of, Zimmer Holdings, Sysco, Staples, and Bank of America no longer grace their portfolio and had previously been sizable positions.

Below you'll find graphical representations of the recent shifts in Bridger Management's portfolio courtesy of Drew Robertson at Financial Research Station:

(click to enlarge)

(click to enlarge)

Overall, they increased stakes in services and technology. Assets from the collective holdings reported to the SEC via 13F filing were $2.1 billion this quarter compared to $1.15 billion last quarter, so they almost doubled their long US equity exposure on a quarter over quarter basis. Please keep in mind that when we state "percentage of portfolio," we are referring to the percentage of assets reported on the 13F filing. Since these filings only report longs (and not shorts or cash positions), the percentages are skewed. Also, please again note that these positions were as of September 30th so two months have elapsed and they've undoubtedly shifted around their portfolio since then.

This is just one of the 40+ prominent funds that we'll be covering in our Q3 2009 hedge fund portfolio series. We've already covered Seth Klarman's Baupost Group Bill Ackman's Pershing Square, Stephen Mandel's Lone Pine Capital, Dan Loeb's Third Point LLC, David Einhorn's Greenlight Capital, John Paulson's firm Paulson & Co, Lee Ainslie's Maverick Capital, Andreas Halvorsen's Viking Global, Chase Coleman's Tiger Global, Brett Barakett's Tremblant Capital, John Griffin's Blue Ridge Capital and Shumway Capital Partners (Chris Shumway), Thomas Steyer's Farallon Capital, David Stemerman's Conatus Capital, and Matt Iorio's White Elm Capital. Check back daily as we'll be covering new hedge fund portfolios.

Roberto Mignone's Bridger Management Files 13G On Cardiome Pharma Corp (CRME)

This is the first time we've detailed portfolio changes of hedge fund Bridger Management so we felt it necessary to provide a bit of background first. Bridger Management is the hedge fund firm founded by Roberto Mignone in 2000. They currently have around $4 billion in assets under management and run a long/short equity and event driven strategy focused on intensive fundamental research. Before Bridger, Mignone actually co-founded Blue Ridge Capital with John Griffin in 1996. And before that, Mignone (like Griffin) worked at Julian Robertson's Tiger Management and as such joins the ranks of other prominent 'Tiger Cub' hedge funds. Mignone attended Harvard for both undergrad and his MBA.

In a 13G filing with the SEC, hedge fund Bridger Management has disclosed a 5.1% ownership stake in Cardiome Pharma Corp (CRME). The filing was made due to activity on November 23rd, 2009 and they now own 3,096,709 shares. They've boosted their holdings because back on September 30th, 2009 they owned 2,837,246 shares as per their 13F filing. This means in the past two months they've added an additional 259,463 shares, a 9% increase. We will be covering Bridger's entire long US equity portfolio in our hedge fund portfolio tracking series so stay tuned.

Taken from Google Finance, Cardiome Pharma is "a life sciences company focused on developing drugs to treat or prevent cardiovascular diseases. The Company’s drug development efforts are focused on the treatment of atrial arrhythmias, a Phase I program for GED-aPC, an engineered analog of human activated protein C, and a pre-clinical program directed at improving cardiovascular function. As of December 31, 2008, Cardiome had five wholly owned subsidiaries: Rhythm-Search Developments Ltd., Cardiome, Inc., Artesian, Cardiome Development AG, and Cardiome UK Limited"