Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) was in 8 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of March. NKTR has experienced a decrease in support from the world’s most elite money managers in recent months. There were 9 hedge funds in our database with NKTR positions at the end of the previous quarter.
Just as important, bullish insider trading sentiment is another way to parse down the world of equities. As the old adage goes: there are a number of incentives for an upper level exec to get rid of shares of his or her company, but only one, very simple reason why they would buy. Various academic studies have demonstrated the useful potential of this tactic if investors understand what to do (learn more here).
Now, we’re going to take a look at the key action regarding Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR).
How are hedge funds trading Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR)?
At Q1’s end, a total of 8 of the hedge funds we track held long positions in this stock, a change of -11% from the first quarter. With hedge funds’ sentiment swirling, there exists a select group of key hedge fund managers who were upping their holdings considerably.
According to our comprehensive database, Healthcor Management LP, managed by Arthur B Cohen and Joseph Healey, holds the largest position in Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR). Healthcor Management LP has a $121 million position in the stock, comprising 5.3% of its 13F portfolio. Sitting at the No. 2 spot is James E. Flynn of Deerfield Management, with a $28.2 million position; 1.7% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Remaining peers with similar optimism include Israel Englander’s Millennium Management, and Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group.
Seeing as Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) has experienced declining sentiment from the smart money, it’s easy to see that there lies a certain “tier” of funds who sold off their positions entirely last quarter. It’s worth mentioning that Kevin Kotler’s Broadfin Capital said goodbye to the largest investment of the “upper crust” of funds we key on, worth about $3.7 million in stock.. David Costen Haley’s fund, HBK Investments, also dumped its stock, about $0.3 million worth. These transactions are important to note, as total hedge fund interest fell by 1 funds last quarter.
What have insiders been doing with Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR)?
Insider buying is best served when the company we’re looking at has seen transactions within the past six months. Over the latest half-year time period, Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) has experienced zero unique insiders buying, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s go over 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). All of these stocks are in the biotechnology industry and their market caps resemble NKTR’s market cap.
