Insider Selling: Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) CEO Sells $119,795.96 in Stock

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) CEO Howard Robin sold 2,207 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.28, for a total transaction of $119,795.96. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 54,245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,944,418.60. This represents a 3.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Nektar Therapeutics Trading Up 8.8%

Shares of Nektar Therapeutics stock opened at $65.69 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.34 billion, a PE ratio of -7.47 and a beta of 1.19. Nektar Therapeutics has a twelve month low of $6.45 and a twelve month high of $66.92. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $58.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $35.35.

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.85) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($2.85) by $1.00. The company had revenue of $11.79 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.20 million. Nektar Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 631.43% and a negative net margin of 163.17%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Nektar Therapeutics will post -0.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on NKTR. Wall Street Zen downgraded Nektar Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Sunday, November 16th. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $100.00 target price on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, September 19th. B. Riley boosted their price target on shares of Nektar Therapeutics from $85.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $121.00 price objective (up previously from $99.00) on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research note on Monday. Finally, Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $102.00 price objective for the company. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $106.33.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of NKTR. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 93.8% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 434 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the period. Algert Global LLC purchased a new position in Nektar Therapeutics during the first quarter worth about $33,000. US Bancorp DE boosted its holdings in Nektar Therapeutics by 257.8% in the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 50,085 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 36,085 shares during the last quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics during the 1st quarter worth approximately $52,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.88% of the company’s stock.

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.