IBT tops up on Shire and Celgene in March

IBT tops up Shire and Celgene in  March

SV Health-managed International Biotech Trust (IBT) recorded a 3.2% fall in NAV in March, slightly under-performing the Nasdaq Biotechnology Index, which was down by 2.9% in sterling terms. The manager reported that the main positive contributors of NAV in the month were Shire Pharmaceuticals, Nektar Therapeutics and G1 Therapeutics, while the three largest negative contributors were Exelixis, Stemline Therapeutics and Prometic Life Sciences.

During the month, the trust boosted its stakes in Celgene and Shire to the top two positions in its portfolio, compared with the position a month earlier. Celgene rose one place to first place, with its share of NAV rising from 4.7% to 6.0%, over a period when its share price was largely flat. This suggests SV Health has topped up its holding, suggesting it believes the stock has plateaued after declining by around 50% since reaching a peak in October last year.

Shire has not featured in the trust’s top 10 holdings since September last year and reappeared in March in second place, accounting for 4.8% of NAV. This suggests the stock was largely acquired in the month, something that now looks exceptionally timely given the subsequent offer for the company from Japan’s Takeda. Shire’s US-listed ADRs have risen from $126 last month to around $160, which should provide a significant boost to the trust’s NAV performance in April.

Nektar performed well during the month, although in its last monthly report, IBT appeared to have been taking profits on its holding, which no longer appears in the top 10. G1 Therapeutics, also a smaller holding, saw its shares double in March on the back of Phase II data on trilaciclib as an adjuctive treatment for small-cell lung cancer. The drug is being trialled for protecting the bone marrow during chemotherapy.

IBT’s top 10 holdings, as of the end of March, are shown in the table below: