Bros. Advisors Lp Baker Acquires 2,608,696 Shares of Kodiak Sciences (NASDAQ:KOD) Stock

Kodiak Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ:KOD) Director Bros. Advisors Lp Baker acquired 2,608,696 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 18th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $23.00 per share, with a total value of $60,000,008.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 18,358,772 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $422,251,756. This trade represents a 16.56% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Kodiak Sciences Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ KOD traded down $0.38 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $26.00. The stock had a trading volume of 3,023,075 shares, compared to its average volume of 598,251. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $20.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $12.16. Kodiak Sciences Inc. has a 1 year low of $1.92 and a 1 year high of $28.79. The firm has a market cap of $1.38 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.31 and a beta of 2.68.

Kodiak Sciences (NASDAQ:KOD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 13th. The company reported ($1.16) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.07) by ($0.09). Equities research analysts predict that Kodiak Sciences Inc. will post -3.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on KOD shares. HC Wainwright raised their price objective on shares of Kodiak Sciences from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 17th. Wall Street Zen cut Kodiak Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 11th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Kodiak Sciences in a research note on Monday, September 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $15.00 price target on the stock. Chardan Capital restated a “neutral” rating and set a $14.00 target price on shares of Kodiak Sciences in a report on Monday, November 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Kodiak Sciences from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $15.00 to $24.00 in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $22.67.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kodiak Sciences

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KOD. US Bancorp DE raised its position in shares of Kodiak Sciences by 131.7% during the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 9,282 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 5,276 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG raised its holdings in Kodiak Sciences by 8.9% during the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 73,564 shares of the company’s stock valued at $207,000 after acquiring an additional 6,018 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kodiak Sciences in the first quarter valued at about $392,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Kodiak Sciences by 729.9% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 21,039 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 18,504 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of Kodiak Sciences by 25.1% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 75,042 shares of the company’s stock worth $210,000 after purchasing an additional 15,075 shares in the last quarter. 89.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kodiak Sciences Company Profile

Kodiak Sciences, Inc is a clinical‐stage biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Palo Alto, California, that focuses on the discovery and development of novel therapies for retinal diseases. The company’s proprietary technology centers on antibody biopolymer conjugates (ABCs), which are designed to extend durability, enhance tissue penetration and improve the safety profile of existing therapeutic modalities. Kodiak’s research and development efforts target conditions such as wet age-related macular degeneration (wet AMD), diabetic macular edema (DME) and other serious ophthalmic disorders.

The lead product candidate in Kodiak’s pipeline is KSI-301, an anti-VEGF antibody biopolymer conjugate administered via intravitreal injection.