After one hedge fund buys, another reduces stake in BioCryst

A New York hedge fund cut its stake in a Durham-based pharmaceutical company by more than 4 million shares, or 25 percent, in the past week.

Baker Bros. Advisors sold the BioCryst Pharmaceuticals Inc. shares between Aug. 12 and Aug. 16 at prices ranging from $4.20 to $5.47, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.

The fund still owns more than 10.9 million shares, or 14.9 percent, of BioCryst and remains its largest shareholder. That stake is worth $51.9 million based on Tuesday’s closing stock price.

North Carolina Business News Wire reported last week that another hedge fund had purchased a 6.6 percent stake in BioCryst.

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals designs and develops small-molecule drugs that block key enzymes to treat rare diseases.

Baker Bros. Advisors is managed by Julian and Felix Baker and focuses on biotechnology companies. It manages a portfolio of nearly $10 billion, with its largest holding being a $2.0 billion stake in Seattle Genetics.

BioCryst closed Aug. 16 at $4.37, down 35 cents, or 7.4 percent.

Note: This story is from the North Carolina Business News Wire, a service of UNC-Chapel Hill’s School of Media and Journalism