ARS Pharmaceuticals, Harmonic, and More Stocks See Action From Activist Investors

These disclosures are from 13Ds filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. 13Ds are filed within 10 days of an entity’s attaining more than 5% in any class of a company’s securities. Subsequent changes in holdings or intentions must be reported in amended filings. This material is from Sept. 21 through Sept. 27, 2023. Source: VerityData

Activist Holdings

Harmonic (HLIT)

Scopia Management revealed a position of 5,669,163 shares of the video-streaming and broadband-services company, equal to 5.1% of the outstanding stock. That stake includes the net addition of 1,861,405 Harmonic shares that were purchased from July 24 through Sept. 20 at prices ranging from $9.61 to $15.50 each.

Scopia noted that the shares “represented an attractive investment opportunity,” and that it had discussed and aims to have further discussions with Harmonic management “regarding opportunities to enhance stockholder value.” Scopia currently has no specific proposals or plans.

Increases in Holdings

SciPlay
(SCPL)

Gamco Investors
(GBL) raised its investment in the digital-games developer to 1,429,508 shares. Gamco purchased 225,216 SciPlay shares from Aug. 25 through Sept. 22 at prices ranging from $22.69 to $22.82 apiece, lifting its stake in the gaming firm to 6.7%.

After the market close on Aug. 8, digital gaming firm
Light & Wonder
(LNW) announced that it will acquire the remaining interest in SciPlay that it currently doesn’t own, approximately 17%, at a price of $22.95 per share in cash. The transaction is expected to close by the end of this year.

Also on Aug. 8, SciPlay reported second-quarter results. Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter noted that revenue was strong but downgraded SciPlay stock to Neutral from Outperform because of the merger agreement, though keeping a $23 price target, which is essentially the deal price.

ARS Pharmaceuticals
(SPRY)

RA Capital aggressively added to its position in the allergy-focused biopharmaceutical firm, bringing its stake to 9,459,678 shares. On Sept. 21, RA Capital bought 2,700,000 ARS Pharmaceuticals shares at prices ranging from $2.75 to $3.90 each. RA Capital now holds a 9.9% interest in ARS Pharmaceuticals.

The purchase came one day after ARS Pharmaceuticals stock plunged on news that the Food and Drug Administration will delay the firm’s new drug application, or NDA, for its epinephrine nasal spray allergy treatment upon the assessment of its physiological and concentration effects from repeat doses versus repeated doses of an injectable epinephrine. The announcement was a “startling rejection,” Barron’s wrote. ARS Pharmaceuticals stock has lost more than half of its value so far this year.

Decreases in Holdings

Disc Medicine
(IRON)

Atlas Venture trimmed its stake in the clinical-stage pharmaceutical firm to 2,745,335 shares. From Aug. 14 through Sept. 18, Atlas Venture sold 716,449 Disc Medicine shares at prices ranging from $52 to $53.60 each. Atlas Venture now holds 12% of Disc Medicine’s tradable stock, which has surged more than 130% year to date.

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