Biotech’s February rebound delivered strong returns across the sector, but Averill stood out, powered by a soaring new IPO that helped drive the firm to double‑digit gains.
One of Averill’s main long-short fund share classes gained 15.3 percent last month after losing money in January. It is now up 11.9 percent for the year, according to someone who has seen the results.
Averill Madison, which emphasizes large-cap stocks, did even better, surging 18.7 percent for the month and 13.4 percent for the year.
Averill, which operates under the umbrella of Suvretta Capital, benefited from a large position in Veradermics, which went public in February. Veradermics is a late-clinical-stage biopharmaceuticals company working on therapeutics for dermatological conditions. Its current focus is a better treatment for pattern hair loss, which affects 50 million men and 30 million women in the United States.
Veradermics offered 15.1 million shares at $17 a pop, above its anticipated range of $14 to $16 per share. By the end of February, the stock had surged 170 percent. The shares have now tripled since the IPO.
Before the company went public, Averill Funds held 8.8 percent of the shares. David Friedman, a managing director and senior analyst at Suvretta, is on the board of directors.
Viking Global Investors and Citadel Multi-Strategy Equities owned 7.8 percent and 7 percent of the shares before the offering, respectively.
Affinity Healthcare Fund also enjoyed a strong February. It picked up about 12.6 percent for the month and approximately 8 percent for the year, according to a hedge fund database. In February, shares of No. 1 common stock long Apogee Therapeutics rose nearly 7 percent and Abivax climbed 9 percent.
Apogee is a clinical-stage biotech company that is developing biologics for the treatment of immunologic and inflammatory disorders. Paris-based Abivax is working to harness the body’s natural regulatory mechanisms to stabilize the immune response in patients with chronic inflammatory diseases.
Elsewhere, RA Capital Management’s main hedge fund increased by 4.4 percent in February and is up 4.3 percent for the year, according to an investor. The firm has also told clients it is closing its hedge fund to new investors as of June 1, says the source, noting that the firm manages $14 billion.
Investors report that Perceptive Advisors jumped 4.1 percent last month and 1.6 percent for the year; Soleus Capital gained 2.2 percent in February and is up 2.8 percent for the year; and RTW Investments added about 30 basis points last month but is still down 6 percent for the year.
At least two funds lost money in February and are in the red for the year. They include Avoro Capital, which dropped 2 percent last month and is off 5 percent for the year, and Casdin Capital, which is down in the single digits for the year, according to an investor.
