On January 10, 2014 Seth Klarman (Baupost Group) acquired 2.9 million shares of Kindred Biosciences at an average cost of $11.17 per share.  This represents 17.93% of all the outstanding shares of the company.  Kindred is a development stage company developing pharmaceuticals for the pet industry.  Its flagship product is a drug called CereKin, a beef flavored dog chew that treats dogs with osteoarthritis.  Its other products include “AtoKin” which treats dermatitis in dogs, and SentiKin for postoperative pain.  Kindred also has numerous other drugs in its pipeline and maybe the reason Klarman has taken such a large position in the company.

On the news, shares of Kindred closed at $12.75 on January 10, 2014.  The shares now appear to be in overbought territory making the shares ripe for short sellers.  Kindred’s IPO was initially priced at seven dollars per share in December 2013.

Disclosure:  We currently do not have a position in Kindred Biosciences and do not plan to acquire shares within the next 72 hours.