Glenview Repeats AbbVie Bull Stance, Shuts Fund To Newbies

Glenview Capital Management repeated its bullish comments on AbbVie Inc (NYSE: ABBV) Tuesday and said it will close to new investors later this year.

The $11.6 billion investment firm will stop taking new money in order to maintain a balance between asset size and liquidity, according to a letter to investors by its founder Larry Robbins.

Worry warts can take comfort from Robbins' assurance Tuesday that he sees no "imminent signs of financial collapse," although he sees risk from oil and emerging market volatility, as well as rising debt in developed economies.

Robbins' fondness for AbbVie was made know earlier this month through his bearish comments at the Sohn Conference, a Manhattan charity event.

AbbVie is misunderstood and, as a result, materially undervalued, according to Robbins, who believes AbbVie is worth $130 a share.

AbbVie is little changed year-to-date and traded recently at $66.95, up $0.21.

Investors are fearful of "an earnings cliff" following 2017 when biosimilar competition may emerge for AbbVie's lead product Humira, according to Robbins.

But developing biosimilar Humira "is literally a thousand times more complex than simply copying a small molecule like generic Tylenol," Robbins said, adding that AbbVie's pipeline is insufficiently appreciated.

Moreover, AbbVie has patents that extend to 2022 and 2026 that have "substantial chances" of being upheld in U.S. courts, according to Robbins.

The fund manager's letter also repeated his bullish stance on Brookdale Senior Living Inc. (NYSE: BKD), taken at Sohn.