Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) Research Coverage Started at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) in a report issued on Friday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage issued a neutral rating and a $65.00 price target on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock.

NKTR has been the topic of a number of other reports. Wedbush cut their price objective on shares of Nektar Therapeutics from $95.00 to $80.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Nektar Therapeutics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, May 17th. Canaccord Genuity Group assumed coverage on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $153.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Nektar Therapeutics from $105.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $141.50.

Nektar Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of NKTR stock opened at $74.02 on Friday. Nektar Therapeutics has a 12-month low of $26.45 and a 12-month high of $109.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.05 and a beta of 1.14. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $69.63 and a 200 day simple moving average of $70.58.

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.23) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.97) by $0.74. Nektar Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 37.87% and a negative net margin of 287.84%.The firm had revenue of $10.13 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.43 million. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Nektar Therapeutics will post -8.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Howard W. Robin sold 418 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.98, for a total transaction of $30,087.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 54,627 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,932,051.46. This trade represents a 0.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Jonathan Zalevsky sold 5,681 shares of Nektar Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total transaction of $397,670.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 9,756 shares in the company, valued at $682,920. This represents a 36.80% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 21,823 shares of company stock worth $1,380,558. 2.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Nektar Therapeutics

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NKTR. Readystate Asset Management LP bought a new stake in Nektar Therapeutics during the second quarter worth approximately $5,942,000. HB Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Nektar Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at $650,000. Braidwell LP increased its holdings in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 112.7% in the second quarter. Braidwell LP now owns 473,617 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $33,063,000 after buying an additional 250,916 shares in the last quarter. Pale Fire Capital SE bought a new position in shares of Nektar Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at $234,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter valued at $802,000. 75.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

More Nektar Therapeutics News

Here are the key news stories impacting Nektar Therapeutics this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Nektar’s latest quarterly results included an adjusted loss of $1.23 per share, substantially better than the $1.97 analyst consensus. The earnings-call transcript provides additional management commentary on the company’s pipeline and financial outlook. Nektar Q2 2026 Earnings Call Transcript
• Positive Sentiment: Institutional ownership remains high at approximately 75.9%, while several funds—including AQR Capital Management, Two Seas Capital and Armistice Capital—recently increased their positions. The broader analyst consensus is still “Moderate Buy,” with an average price target well above the current trading level. Nektar institutional ownership and analyst ratings
• Neutral Sentiment: JPMorgan initiated coverage with a “Neutral” rating and a $65 price target. The target is below the recent share price, signaling limited near-term upside in JPMorgan’s view, although the rating is not an outright sell recommendation. JPMorgan initiates coverage of Nektar
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO Howard Robin and insider Jonathan Zalevsky sold shares to cover tax withholding obligations tied to vested equity awards. The transactions were relatively small compared with their remaining holdings, reducing their significance as a bearish signal. Nektar insider transactions
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue of $10.13 million fell slightly short of the $10.43 million estimate, while Nektar continues to report substantial losses and is expected to post approximately negative $8.60 in full-year EPS. HC Wainwright also issued a negative outlook for NKTR earnings, adding to concerns about ongoing cash burn and execution risk. HC Wainwright earnings outlook

About Nektar Therapeutics

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) is a biopharmaceutical company dedicated to discovering and developing novel drug candidates through its proprietary chemistry and immunology platforms. The company focuses on polymer conjugate technology, which enables the creation of longer-acting versions of existing drugs, and on T-cell modulatory therapies aimed at harnessing the body’s immune system to treat cancer and other serious diseases.

Nektar’s product portfolio and pipeline include a range of clinical-stage and partnered programs.