Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) has experienced a decrease in support from the world’s most elite money managers in recent months.
In today’s marketplace, there are many indicators shareholders can use to track their holdings. A duo of the most underrated are hedge fund and insider trading movement. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the best hedge fund managers can outpace the broader indices by a significant margin (see just how much).
Equally as important, bullish insider trading activity is another way to break down the financial markets. As the old adage goes: there are a number of reasons for an insider to cut shares of his or her company, but just one, very simple reason why they would behave bullishly. Plenty of academic studies have demonstrated the impressive potential of this strategy if investors know where to look (learn more here).
Consequently, let’s take a glance at the latest action regarding Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR).
What does the smart money think about Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR)?
At year’s end, a total of 9 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of -10% from one quarter earlier. With hedgies’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists an “upper tier” of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were boosting their stakes meaningfully.
Of the funds we track, Healthcor Management LP, managed by Arthur B Cohen and Joseph Healey, holds the most valuable position in Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR). Healthcor Management LP has a $82 million position in the stock, comprising 4.5% of its 13F portfolio. Coming in second is Deerfield Management, managed by James E. Flynn, which held a $19 million position; the fund has 1% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Some other hedge funds with similar optimism include Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group, Israel Englander’s Millennium Management and Kevin Kotler’s Broadfin Capital.
Judging by the fact that Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) has faced a declination in interest from hedge fund managers, we can see that there is a sect of fund managers who were dropping their entire stakes heading into 2013. Interestingly, Louis Bacon’s Moore Global Investments dumped the biggest position of the 450+ funds we watch, valued at an estimated $2 million in call options. Jacob Gottlieb’s fund, Visium Asset Management, also sold off its call options., about $0 million worth. These bearish behaviors are interesting, as total hedge fund interest fell by 1 funds heading into 2013.
How are insiders trading Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR)?
Bullish insider trading is particularly usable when the company we’re looking at has seen transactions within the past six months. Over the last half-year time frame, Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) has seen zero unique insiders purchasing, and 1 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s also review hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR). These stocks are Santarus, Inc. (NASDAQ:SNTS), Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:LXRX), Sarepta Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:SRPT), ImmunoGen, Inc. (NASDAQ:IMGN), and Acorda Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:ACOR). This group of stocks are the members of the biotechnology industry and their market caps are similar to NKTR’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| Santarus, Inc. (NASDAQ:SNTS) | 16 | 1 | 12 |
| Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:LXRX) | 7 | 2 | 0 |
| Sarepta Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:SRPT) | 16 | 0 | 1 |
| ImmunoGen, Inc. (NASDAQ:IMGN) | 5 | 1 | 2 |
| Acorda Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:ACOR) | 10 | 0 | 7 |
With the returns shown by Insider Monkey’s strategies, everyday investors should always pay attention to hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) shareholders fit into this picture quite nicely.
