Did An #Institutional #Investor in $PVCT Close Its Shop?

Funds blow up and/or close down all the time. Natural selection. Darwinian evolution. Call it what you want. The recent depression in certain commodity prices was attributed by some to the blow up of a couple of funds and the liquidation of their positions.

Many commodity markets are deep (i.e., very liquid), like certain U.S. large cap equity names for example, and closing of positions (more often long, thus liquidation means selling) don't usually move prices much unless those positions were large to very large. Market participants in the know about such closings/liquidations often step out of the way until the fund(s) is(are) done.

Sizable positions in less liquid or illiquid assets or stocks can move prices much more. And knowledgeable market participants do the same thing. They wait, and then they act (if they desire to act at all).

I have written about Revelation, a formerly large shareholder of Provectus stock, converting its preferred shares into common and selling them. The firm's latest Form 13G filing indicated a dramatic reduction in beneficial ownership. Sometimes investors decide they've had enough and throw in the towel. It happens to institutional and retail investors alike.

Rumors are circulating about Revelation sold its Provectus warrants too. Sometimes investors sell because their closing down, and their selling has nothing to do with their investment thesis related to a particular holding. A hedge fund doesn't sell its warrants, digging around for the very last scrap in its larder, if it's throwing in the towel on its thesis. The situation arises because the fund and perhaps the firm itself are closing down.

A graph of Revelation's quarter-end 13F SEC filings from 12/31/11 to 12/31/12 is below.

The number of holdings (13F entries) and amount of assets under management related to these holdings (cash is not reported) for the period or quarter ending 12/31/12 are down considerably from, say, the last quarter-end of 9/30/12, let alone year-over-year.

We obviously don't know Revelation's fund terms and conditions (e.g., redemption notices, gates, etc.), but it is very possible the fund and maybe the firm is closing.

Short interest for the period ending February 15 is reported tomorrow. The large spike in short interest, perhaps attributed to the "fake short" caused by converting preferred shares into common shares, might fall and confirm Revelation was responsible for it. Rear-view mirror stuff.

If the Big Seller has been Revelation liquidating its Provectus holding, the loss of this downward pressure on the stock may permit natural buying interest to push the share up dramatically more.