Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) Upgraded by Jefferies Financial Group to “Hold”

Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR – Get Rating) from an underperform rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday, The Fly reports. The firm currently has $1.00 price target on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, down from their prior price target of $1.50.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of Nektar Therapeutics from $3.00 to $2.00 and set a sell rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 27th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Nektar Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, March 16th. They issued a hold rating for the company. SVB Securities reduced their price target on Nektar Therapeutics from $5.00 to $3.00 in a research note on Friday, February 24th. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on Nektar Therapeutics from $5.00 to $3.00 and set a market perform rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 6th. Finally, SVB Leerink reduced their target price on shares of Nektar Therapeutics from $5.00 to $3.00 and set a market perform rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $2.40.

Nektar Therapeutics Price Performance

NKTR opened at $0.75 on Wednesday. Nektar Therapeutics has a one year low of $0.60 and a one year high of $5.18. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $0.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $2.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $141.95 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.38 and a beta of 1.09.

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 28th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.32) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.43) by $0.11. The company had revenue of $22.02 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.21 million. Nektar Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 76.92% and a negative net margin of 399.98%. The firm’s revenue was down 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.79) earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Nektar Therapeutics will post -0.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Jonathan Zalevsky sold 10,484 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.00, for a total value of $31,452.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 303,179 shares in the company, valued at approximately $909,537. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Jonathan Zalevsky sold 10,484 shares of Nektar Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.00, for a total value of $31,452.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 303,179 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $909,537. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Howard W. Robin sold 19,635 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.00, for a total value of $58,905.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 960,158 shares in the company, valued at $2,880,474. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 40,386 shares of company stock worth $121,158 over the last 90 days. 3.38% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nektar Therapeutics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co NY grew its position in Nektar Therapeutics by 43.7% in the fourth quarter. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co NY now owns 11,340 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 3,450 shares in the last quarter. Syntax Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Nektar Therapeutics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Financial Advocates Investment Management purchased a new stake in Nektar Therapeutics during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its position in Nektar Therapeutics by 280.5% in the first quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 41,048 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 30,261 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Xponance Inc. purchased a new position in Nektar Therapeutics during the third quarter worth $33,000. 92.30% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Nektar Therapeutics

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Nektar Therapeutics is a research-based biopharmaceutical company which engages in discovering and developing medicines in areas of unmet medical need. Its research and development pipeline of new investigational drugs includes therapies for oncology, immunology and virology. The firm focuses on using new chemistry approaches to make medicines to treat cancer and autoimmune diseases.