Squarepoint Ops LLC Purchases Shares of 139,758 Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR)

Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 139,758 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $130,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC owned approximately 0.08% of Nektar Therapeutics as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Two Sigma Securities LLC increased its holdings in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 56.3% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Securities LLC now owns 27,654 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 9,958 shares during the period. Harvest Investment Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 42.4% in the fourth quarter. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC now owns 50,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 14,895 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 49.0% in the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 50,277 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 16,543 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 50.6% in the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 94,152 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $88,000 after purchasing an additional 31,654 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.88% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. William Blair reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Oppenheimer raised Nektar Therapeutics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $6.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Nektar Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $1.00 to $2.00 in a research report on Friday, April 11th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $6.50 price objective on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Nektar Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $4.50.

Nektar Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of Nektar Therapeutics stock opened at $8.79 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $0.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $0.88. Nektar Therapeutics has a 1 year low of $6.48 and a 1 year high of $22.79. The stock has a market cap of $1.64 billion, a PE ratio of -10.46 and a beta of 0.55.

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.22) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.18) by ($0.04). Nektar Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 173.28% and a negative net margin of 180.70%. The company had revenue of $10.46 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.61 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.18) EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Nektar Therapeutics will post -0.72 EPS for the current year.

Nektar Therapeutics Company Profile

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.