Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) Shares Up 3.8% – What’s Next?

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) shares shot up 3.8% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $58.00 and last traded at $57.06. 293,459 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 67% from the average session volume of 900,563 shares. The stock had previously closed at $54.96.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on NKTR. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. HC Wainwright raised their price objective on shares of Nektar Therapeutics to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 price objective on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a report on Friday, September 19th. Finally, B. Riley raised their price objective on shares of Nektar Therapeutics from $85.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 23rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $91.67.

Nektar Therapeutics Stock Up 5.1%

The business’s fifty day moving average is $44.56 and its 200 day moving average is $25.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.57 and a beta of 1.18.

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($2.95) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($3.13) by $0.18. The business had revenue of $11.18 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.42 million. Nektar Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 163.17% and a negative return on equity of 631.43%. Equities research analysts expect that Nektar Therapeutics will post -0.72 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Howard W. Robin sold 6,666 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.69, for a total value of $311,235.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 49,342 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,303,777.98. This trade represents a 11.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jonathan Zalevsky sold 1,721 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.52, for a total transaction of $57,687.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 17,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $585,326.24. This trade represents a 8.97% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 25,178 shares of company stock valued at $938,776. 5.25% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NKTR. Rhumbline Advisers grew its position in Nektar Therapeutics by 23.3% in the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 221,761 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $151,000 after purchasing an additional 41,948 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Nektar Therapeutics in the 1st quarter valued at about $41,000. 49 Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Nektar Therapeutics in the 1st quarter valued at about $56,000. Cerity Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Nektar Therapeutics in the 1st quarter valued at about $52,000. Finally, CWM LLC grew its position in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 4,544.5% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 105,524 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $72,000 after acquiring an additional 103,252 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.