Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) Shares Down 9.6% – Here’s Why

Shares of Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) traded down 9.6% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $61.74 and last traded at $60.4340. 1,153,889 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 14% from the average daily volume of 1,008,141 shares. The stock had previously closed at $66.84.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on NKTR. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a report on Friday, August 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on Nektar Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, August 21st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $65.00 target price for the company. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $178.00 target price on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, September 16th. Canaccord Genuity Group initiated coverage on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $153.00 target price on the stock. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded shares of Nektar Therapeutics to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $141.50.

Nektar Therapeutics Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $2.10 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.15 and a beta of 1.14. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $71.71 and a two-hundred day moving average of $72.02.

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.23) 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 net margin of 287.84% and a negative return on equity of 37.87%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Nektar Therapeutics will post -8.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, 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 directly owned 9,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $682,920. The trade was a 36.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Howard W. Robin sold 418 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.98, for a total transaction of $30,087.64. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 54,627 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,932,051.46. The trade was a 0.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold a total of 6,285 shares of company stock valued at $441,146 over the last quarter. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. KBC Group NV purchased a new position in Nektar Therapeutics during the 1st quarter valued at about $52,000. State of Wyoming purchased a new position in shares of Nektar Therapeutics in the first quarter worth $67,000. Great Lakes Advisors LLC bought a new position in Nektar Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter valued at about $206,000. Arrowpoint Investment Partners Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Nektar Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth approximately $208,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new position in shares of Nektar Therapeutics in the 1st quarter worth $209,000. Institutional investors own 75.88% of the company’s stock.

Nektar Therapeutics Company 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.