Martin Shkreli a.k.a. "Pharma Bro" is known for a variety of reasons, many of which are tinged with notoriety. He cofounded MSMB Capital Management (a company that specializes in long-term investments in healthcare and biotechnology businesses); he is the former CEO and Co-founder of Retrophin; and also the former CEO of Turing Pharmaceuticals and KaloBios Pharmaceuticals Inc.
Shkreli faced criticism in 2015 for significantly increasing the price of the HIV medication Daraprim, which was considered essential for saving lives. The cost of the drug jumped from approximately $13.50 to a staggering $750 overnight. This price surge came after the FDA approved the decades-old drug for treating toxoplasmosis, a major contributor to focal central nervous system disease in individuals with AIDS. Shkreli was charged and convicted on two counts of securities fraud and one count of conspiring to commit securities fraud. He was later sentenced to 7 years of jail time and up to $7.4 million in fines.
Martin Shkreli started MSMB Capital Management in 2009 together with his friend Marek Biestek where they shorted biotech companies and spread the flaws of these companies to investors and to the public.
In 2011, under the MSMB umbrella, he founded Retrophin, a portfolio company that focused on biotechnology to create treatments for rare diseases. He was ousted as the company's CEO because of committing stock-trading irregularities and other violations of securities rules. Retrophin was rebranded as Travere Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:TVTX) in an effort to further distance the company from Shkreli.
After his stint with Retrophin, he founded Turing Pharmaceuticals in 2015 where the controversy over the Daraprim price started. Shkreli also led an investor group in November 2015 and acquired a majority stake in KaloBios Pharmaceuticals. He was chosen to be CEO of the company but was then terminated after his arrest on December 2015.
Shkreli was subpoenaed to appear before the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform of the U.S. House of Representatives to answer questions about the Daraprim price increase, but he followed his lawyer's advice and refused to answer any questions during the hearings.
Charges were filed against Shkreli and he was arrested in December 2015 after an investigation into his tenure at MSMB Capital Management and Retrophin.
On August 4, 2017, the trial jury found Shkreli guilty of two counts of securities fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud. Shkreli described his prosecution as "a witch hunt of epic proportions". He was sentenced to 7-year imprisonment and to forfeit more than $7.3 million of his assets. Martin Shkreli was also ordered to pay a civil fine of $64.6 million to compensate victims. However, he was granted an early release from the low-security federal prison in Allenwood, Pennsylvania, on May 18, 2022.
Martin Shkreli revealed his latest AI tool, named "Dr. Gupta," on Twitter earlier this year. During a Twitter Spaces event, Shkreli shared that his new large language model was trained using data sourced from online medical journals which can be found on the web.
Martin Shkreli Stock Picks and Their Performance
By House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform - https://www.flickr.com/photos/oversight/25044779546/in/photostream/, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=54893482
Our Methodology
For this article we picked stocks Shkreli gave positive comments about on Reddit and YouTube. Five years ago, Shkreli engaged in an AMA on Reddit, during which he discussed certain stocks that he held a positive outlook on. We selected a few stocks from that particular thread. We also saw several videos posted by Martin Shkreli on his YouTube channel in which he analyzes stocks. We only picked companies he's bullish on. That does not necessarily mean Shkreli has stakes in these companies.
AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. (NYSE:AMC) is actively involved in the business of theatrical exhibitions, utilizing its subsidiary companies to carry out its operations in this field.
As of the end of the past quarter of 2023, 16 hedge funds had stakes in AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. (NYSE:AMC). The biggest hedge fund stakeholder of AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. (NYSE:AMC) during the latest period was Philippe Laffont's Coatue Management which owns 4,212,158 shares of the company worth $21 million.
Martin Shkreli mentioned AMC in one of his YouTube streams and explained why he thinks AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. (NYSE:AMC) is a great investment choice. Here's what he said:
"I actually think AMC gets a good deal. The fact that they get all this margin just on the film, and then 80% margin on food and beverage. It's not a bad business. It's a pretty good business model. It's pretty capital-intensive. They actually have buying power too, whereas other theaters don't have as much buying power."
Tokyo, Japan-based Sony Corporation (NYSE:SONY) is an electric equipment designer, music producer, and game developer.
Earlier this year, Martin Shkreli mentioned Sony Corporation (NYSE:SONY) in one of his YouTube streams and said:
“The company made $1.1 trillion in cash in 2021, and made $1.2 trillion in cash in 2022. The market cap is about $15 trillion. So would you pay $15 trillion to get $1.2 trillion a year? Possibly a growing $1.2 trillion a year. That seems pretty good but is it free cash flow or not? Sony has clearly cash flow potential of a trillion in a year, which in a current market cap of $15 trillion sounds pretty good for a slow grower. Its average growth is 5%, so earning should grow to 7% with little leverage. Music is their best division from a profitability perspective and arguably music doesn’t quite give games a run for its money but pound for pound it certainly does. Music plus imaging is actually bigger than games in terms of profit. My verdict on SONY is its okay. It’s not something to write home about but it could be an “okay” stock if it gets cheaper. It’s certainly worth paying attention to given their status in the ecosystem of several different spheres of influence.”
Five years ago Shkreli did an AMA session on Reddit in which he mentioned some stocks he was long on. REGN was one of these stocks. Over the past five years REGN shares have gained 124%.
As of the end of the first quarter of 2023, 54 hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey had stakes in Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:REGN). The total value of these stakes was $1.9 billion. The most significant stakeholder of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:REGN) during this period was Citadel Investment Group of Ken Griffin which owns a $239.3 million stake in the company.
BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (NASDAQ:BMRN) specializes in the advancement and distribution of treatments designed for individuals grappling with severe and potentially fatal uncommon illnesses and medical conditions. BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (NASDAQ:BMRN)'s main business market includes specialty pharmacies, and hospitals, as well as distributors, and pharmaceutical wholesalers across the United States, Europe, Latin America, and other global regions.
As of the end of the past quarter of 2023, 56 hedge funds had stakes in BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (NASDAQ:BMRN). The biggest hedge fund stakeholder of BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (NASDAQ:BMRN) during the latest period was Kurt Von Emster's VenBio Select Advisor which owns a $383.6 million stake in the company.
Martin Shkreli thinks that BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (NASDAQ:BMRN) is quite attractive regardless of how Valrox, a drug they developed for gene therapy for the treatment of hemophilia A, will perform. Here's what he said:
"BMRN appears attractive given limited downside regardless of valrox performance. Valrox likely will do well for at least a few years. A next-generation product will be needed. It's unclear competition will do a lot better than valrox, but that's the main risk."
Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) is a biopharmaceutical enterprise grounded in research that concentrates on finding, developing, and marketing pioneering medications. Shkreli in a Reddit AMA five years ago said that he was long GILD. The stock has gained about 7% over the past 5 years.
Ariel Global Strategy made the following comment about Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) in its Q4 2022 investor letter:
“Biopharmaceutical company Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD. advanced in the quarter on positive data released in a study evaluating Trodelvy versus comparative chemotherapy in patients with metastatic breast cancer. The detailed findings increased investor confidence the drug would receive incremental approvals for a broader range of breast cancer treatments. Shares also received a boost on news the TAF patent portfolio for HIV drugs will be extended from the middle of this decade through the early 2030s, creating greater visibility into the company’s long-term opportunity in the virology market.”
