Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has assigned a hold recommendation and five have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $89.00.

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 price target on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Wall Street Zen cut Nektar Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Sunday. B. Riley increased their target price on Nektar Therapeutics from $85.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nektar Therapeutics

In related news, insider Jonathan Zalevsky sold 1,721 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.52, for a total value of $57,687.92. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 17,462 shares in the company, valued at $585,326.24. This trade represents a 8.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Howard W. Robin sold 6,666 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.69, for a total transaction of $311,235.54. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 49,342 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,303,777.98. This represents a 11.90% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 25,178 shares of company stock worth $938,776 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 5.25% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nektar Therapeutics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Almitas Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 401.1% in the 1st quarter. Almitas Capital LLC now owns 4,610,872 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,135,000 after acquiring an additional 3,690,647 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Nektar Therapeutics by 336.9% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,640,851 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,463,000 after purchasing an additional 2,807,595 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its position in Nektar Therapeutics by 253.1% during the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 1,658,745 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,128,000 after purchasing an additional 1,188,976 shares in the last quarter. Deuterium Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Nektar Therapeutics in the first quarter valued at $381,000. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC grew its holdings in Nektar Therapeutics by 2,435.4% in the first quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 557,222 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $379,000 after purchasing an additional 535,244 shares during the last quarter. 75.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Nektar Therapeutics Price Performance

Nektar Therapeutics stock opened at $56.68 on Monday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $56.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $32.55. Nektar Therapeutics has a 12 month low of $6.45 and a 12 month high of $66.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.15 billion, a PE ratio of -6.44 and a beta of 1.19.

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.85) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($2.85) by $1.00. Nektar Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 163.17% and a negative return on equity of 631.43%. The company had revenue of $11.79 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.20 million. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Nektar Therapeutics will post -0.72 EPS for the current year.

About Nektar Therapeutics

Nektar Therapeutics, a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on discovering and developing medicines in the field of immunotherapy in the United States and internationally. The company is developing rezpegaldesleukin, a cytokine Treg stimulant that is in phase 2 clinical trial for the treatment of systemic lupus erythematosus and ulcerative colitis, as well as phase 2b clinical trial to treat atopic dermatitis and psoriasis; and NKTR-255, an IL-15 receptor agonist, which is in phase 1 clinical trial to boost the immune system's natural ability to fight cancer.