Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) Stock Keeps “Buy” Rating at HC Wainwright

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR)‘s stock had its “buy” rating restated by investment analysts at HC Wainwright in a research note issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $185.00 target price on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock. HC Wainwright’s price target suggests a potential upside of 293.70% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on NKTR. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $178.00 target price on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, September 25th. Canaccord Genuity Group began coverage on Nektar Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $153.00 price objective on the stock. Wedbush dropped their price objective on Nektar Therapeutics from $80.00 to $50.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, August 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on Nektar Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, August 21st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $65.00 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $138.50.

Nektar Therapeutics Stock Down 22.4%

Nektar Therapeutics stock opened at $46.99 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.60 billion, a PE ratio of -7.01 and a beta of 1.26. Nektar Therapeutics has a 52 week low of $33.40 and a 52 week high of $109.00. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $70.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $71.25.

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.23) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.97) by $0.74. Nektar Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 287.84% and a negative return on equity of 37.87%. The company had revenue of $10.13 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.43 million. On average, research analysts expect that Nektar Therapeutics will post -8.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Nektar Therapeutics

In other Nektar Therapeutics news, CEO Howard Robin sold 418 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.98, for a total value of $30,087.64. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 54,627 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,932,051.46. This trade represents a 0.76% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Nektar Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NKTR. Two Seas Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth about $31,506,000. Armistice Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 122.4% during the 4th quarter. Armistice Capital LLC now owns 596,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $25,199,000 after purchasing an additional 328,000 shares during the period. Sofinnova Investments Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 270.4% during the 4th quarter. Sofinnova Investments Inc. now owns 438,630 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $18,545,000 after purchasing an additional 320,211 shares during the period. BVF Inc. IL grew its holdings in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 22.2% during the 4th quarter. BVF Inc. IL now owns 1,559,595 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $65,940,000 after purchasing an additional 283,000 shares during the period. Finally, Orbimed Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics during the 1st quarter worth about $19,786,000. 75.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Nektar Therapeutics News

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

• Positive Sentiment: New Phase 2b data showed durable responses for rezpegaldesleukin in severe alopecia areata and atopic dermatitis. In alopecia areata, 75% of responders maintained a SALT score of 20 or lower four months after treatment ended, while 63% maintained that response after six months. Hair regrowth also continued after treatment. New Rezpegaldesleukin Data Supporting Long-term Durability and Disease Improvement
• Positive Sentiment: Nektar initiated a third Phase 3 study in treatment-experienced atopic dermatitis patients and plans to begin the Phase 3 ZENITH-AA alopecia areata study in early 2027, expanding the potential commercial opportunity for rezpegaldesleukin. Nektar Therapeutics Shareholder and Analyst Call
• Positive Sentiment: Separate biomarker results showed that rezpegaldesleukin affected multiple immune pathways as early as Week 2, with molecular changes significantly associated with later clinical improvement. This supports the drug’s proposed regulatory T-cell mechanism. New Biomarker Data for Rezpegaldesleukin
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst coverage lists a consensus price target of $138.50, but the target remains dependent on successful late-stage development and regulatory progress. Nektar Consensus Target Price
• Negative Sentiment: The stock fell as investors reacted to the new mid-stage alopecia data. Although the results were positive, the data may not have provided a sufficiently strong near-term catalyst to offset uncertainty over Phase 3 execution, approval prospects, commercialization, and Nektar’s continuing losses. Elevated options activity also reflects unusually high volatility and bearish positioning. Nektar Drops After Mid-Stage Hair Loss Data

Nektar Therapeutics Company Profile

Nektar Therapeutics is a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing medicines that use the body’s immune system to treat cancer and autoimmune diseases. The company’s research programs are based on proprietary drug-design and immunology technologies intended to improve the activity, targeting, or dosing of therapeutic agents.

Nektar’s pipeline has included NKTR-255, an investigational interleukin-15 receptor agonist designed to activate natural killer cells and support antitumor immune responses.