Firefly Value Partners Co-Founder and Portfolio Manager Ryan Heslop is bearish on Franklin, Tenn.-based Community Health Systems, according to Reuters.
Mr. Heslop, who was one of several hedge fund managers to present May 6 at the Ira Sohn Investment Conference in New York, announced a short position in CHS during the conference.
He said CHS will likely go bankrupt over the next few years due to rising debt costs and dwindling revenue per hospital bed.
The company's "pile of debt and the declining profitability of hospitals make it almost certain that this patient will die," Mr. Heslop said, according to Reuters.
CHS didn't immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment.
During the conference, other discussions about for-profit hospital operators were positive. Glenview Capital Management Founder and CEO Larry Robbins said he's bullish on hospitals overall, and owning stock in Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA Healthcare, King of Prussia-based Universal Health Services and Dallas-based Tenet Healthcare is a wise decision, according to Barron's.
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