Stock Traders Purchase High Volume of Call Options on Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR)

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Friday. Traders bought 2,351 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 245% compared to the typical daily volume of 681 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on NKTR. Oppenheimer raised Nektar Therapeutics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $6.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, March 14th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $6.50 target price on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. William Blair reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, B. Riley assumed coverage on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $4.00 price objective on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $4.92.

Nektar Therapeutics Stock Down 2.3 %

Shares of NKTR opened at $0.74 on Friday. Nektar Therapeutics has a 52-week low of $0.65 and a 52-week high of $1.93. The stock has a market cap of $137.72 million, a PE ratio of -0.88 and a beta of 0.65. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $0.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1.05.

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 12th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.18) by $0.33. The firm had revenue of $29.18 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.65 million. Nektar Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 180.70% and a negative return on equity of 173.28%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Nektar Therapeutics will post -0.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nektar Therapeutics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Nektar Therapeutics by 10.4% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 522,409 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $486,000 after buying an additional 49,319 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its holdings in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 801.4% in the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 469,769 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $437,000 after purchasing an additional 417,651 shares during the period. US Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Nektar Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Woodline Partners LP boosted its holdings in Nektar Therapeutics by 187.3% in the 4th quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 4,974,512 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $4,626,000 after purchasing an additional 3,242,841 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $130,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.