More Inhibitex

I sold my remaining holding in Pharmasset, Inc. (Ticker: VRUS) today and used a portion of the proceeds to pick up more shares in Inhibitex, Inc. (Ticker: INHX) at ~ $24 per share.

It’s been a wild ride in 2011 as I got hit quite badly with the special situation plays in Big Lots (Ticker: BIG) and Gen-Probe (Ticker: GPRO). I went in pretty big in those positions and got killed when there were no deals. That was definitely an unpleasant learning experience… I placed a too big of a wager on an uncertain situation. Fortunately, I managed to dig myself out of the hole and basically ended flat for the year. It would have been a great year if it wasn’t for those two big losers. Going over my trades, ~ 71% were profitable. I would like to maintain this goal going forward. You are never going to be 100% profitable on your trades. The end game is simply to make money.

Some Inhibitex, Inc.

I sold half my position in Pharmasset, Inc. (Ticker: VRUS) yesterday generating a net gain of 5.5% over a 35 day period (~56% annualized return). I reinvested the proceeds into Inhibitex, Inc. (Ticker: INHX) at ~ $23.76. Inhibitex announced over the weekend that it has agreed to be acquired by Bristol-Myers Squibb (Ticker: BMY) for $26 in cash via a tender offer. I’m looking at this deal closing in ~ 60 days. The spread is attractive (currently ~ 9% with a potential annualized return of ~ 55%) because people still remember what happened to Pharmasset when they stopped a phase two trial for hepatitis C due to liver toxicity. I like this risk return opportunity…

On a side note, I picked up an odd lot (99 shares) of SeaSpan Corporation (Ticker: SSW) at $13.51 and tendered the shares yesterday. There is a tender offer for $15 per share with holders of odd lots taking priority. No gain is too small…Thanks to T. Bhat at http://valueinvesting.proboards.com (click: here) for giving me the heads up on this deal.

Pharmasset, Inc. Is Almost Done

Yesterday, Gilead Sciences, Inc. (Ticker: GILD) announced that it received HSR approval for the acquisition of Pharmasset, Inc. (Ticker: VRUS). Pharmasset popped to ~ $135 in after hours trading. This deal is just about done with the tender offer expiring next week. The closing of this deal will be a nice start to the New Year.