Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Hold

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR – Get Rating) was upgraded by StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Thursday.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price target on Nektar Therapeutics from $25.00 to $6.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 16th. BTIG Research cut shares of Nektar Therapeutics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, March 14th. SVB Leerink reduced their price target on shares of Nektar Therapeutics from $7.00 to $6.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 18th. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded shares of Nektar Therapeutics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $24.00 to $5.00 in a research report on Monday, March 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Nektar Therapeutics from $24.00 to $17.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $13.46.

NASDAQ:NKTR opened at $3.99 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $743.23 million, a P/E ratio of -1.49 and a beta of 1.36. Nektar Therapeutics has a fifty-two week low of $3.52 and a fifty-two week high of $19.37. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $5.49 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $10.03.

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 5th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.49) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.72) by $0.23. Nektar Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 476.58% and a negative return on equity of 65.64%. The firm had revenue of $24.82 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $24.89 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.68) earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Nektar Therapeutics will post -2.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

In related news, CFO Gil M. Labrucherie sold 7,579 shares of Nektar Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.95, for a total transaction of $82,990.05. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Jonathan Zalevsky sold 10,912 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.95, for a total value of $119,486.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 38,186 shares of company stock valued at $418,137 in the last three months. 2.91% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Evoke Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Nektar Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $143,000. KBC Group NV grew its stake in Nektar Therapeutics by 17.3% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 8,572 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $116,000 after acquiring an additional 1,264 shares in the last quarter. Camelot Portfolios LLC bought a new stake in Nektar Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at $136,000. Verition Fund Management LLC purchased a new stake in Nektar Therapeutics in the 1st quarter worth $55,000. Finally, Calton & Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of Nektar Therapeutics during the 1st quarter valued at about $55,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.08% of the company’s stock.

Nektar Therapeutics Company Profile (Get Rating)

Nektar Therapeutics, a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on discovering and developing medicines in areas of unmet medical need in the United States and internationally. The company's products include Bempegaldesleukin, a CD122-preferential interleukin-2 (IL-2) pathway agonist, which is in phase 3 clinical trial to treat metastatic melanoma, renal cell carcinoma, muscle-invasive bladder cancer, squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck, and adjuvant melanoma; phase 2 clinical trial for the treatment of renal cell carcinoma, non-small cell lung cancer, and urothelial cancer; phase 1/2A clinical trial to treat squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck; phase 1/2 clinical trial for the treatment of solid tumors; and phase 1B clinical trial to treat COVID-19.

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