WINTON GROUP Ltd Raises Stock Holdings in Nektar Therapeutics $NKTR

WINTON GROUP Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) by 53.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 25,900 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,990 shares during the period. WINTON GROUP Ltd owned about 0.08% of Nektar Therapeutics worth $1,808,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of NKTR. Engineers Gate Manager LP lifted its position in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 55.9% during the second quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 19,183 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,339,000 after purchasing an additional 6,881 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 27.3% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 8,477 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $592,000 after purchasing an additional 1,816 shares during the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 8,374.9% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 2,430,784 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $169,693,000 after purchasing an additional 2,402,102 shares during the last quarter. Readystate Asset Management LP purchased a new position in Nektar Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter worth about $5,942,000. Finally, HB Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Nektar Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter worth about $650,000. Institutional investors own 75.88% of the company’s stock.

Nektar Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ NKTR opened at $69.76 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.38 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.41 and a beta of 1.14. Nektar Therapeutics has a 1-year low of $33.40 and a 1-year high of $109.00. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $72.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $72.07.

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.23) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.97) by $0.74. The company had revenue of $10.13 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.43 million. Nektar Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 37.87% and a negative net margin of 287.84%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Nektar Therapeutics will post -8.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on NKTR shares. TD Cowen raised shares of Nektar Therapeutics to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 24th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $178.00 price target on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday. Canaccord Genuity Group assumed coverage on Nektar Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $153.00 price target for the company. Wall Street Zen raised Nektar Therapeutics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, May 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a report on Friday, August 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Nektar Therapeutics presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $141.50.

Insider Transactions at Nektar Therapeutics

In other news, CEO Howard Robin sold 418 shares of Nektar Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.98, for a total value of $30,087.64. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 54,627 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,932,051.46. The trade was a 0.76% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 the business’s 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 transaction, the insider owned 9,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $682,920. This trade represents a 36.80% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 21,823 shares of company stock worth $1,380,558 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Nektar Therapeutics Profile

Nektar Therapeutics is a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing medicines that harness the body’s immune system to treat cancer and autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. The company’s research is centered on cytokine biology, immune-cell regulation and its proprietary polymer-conjugation technologies, which are designed to modify therapeutic compounds and potentially improve their duration, delivery or tolerability.

Nektar’s pipeline has included investigational therapies such as rezpegaldesleukin, an immune-modulating treatment being studied for autoimmune and inflammatory conditions.