Cerity Partners LLC Invests $52,000 in Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR)

Cerity Partners LLC bought a new stake in Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 75,920 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $52,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Two Sigma Securities LLC increased its holdings in Nektar Therapeutics by 56.3% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Securities LLC now owns 27,654 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 9,958 shares in the last quarter. Harvest Investment Services LLC bought a new stake in Nektar Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. US Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Nektar Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in Nektar Therapeutics during the 1st quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Nektar Therapeutics by 49.0% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. 75.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Nektar Therapeutics Stock Down 3.7%

Shares of NASDAQ NKTR opened at $22.07 on Thursday. Nektar Therapeutics has a twelve month low of $6.45 and a twelve month high of $37.38. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $17.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $13.71. The company has a market capitalization of $273.89 million, a PE ratio of -2.30 and a beta of 0.94.

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($3.30) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($2.70) by ($0.60). Nektar Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 329.54% and a negative net margin of 152.49%. The business had revenue of $10.46 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.61 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($2.70) EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Nektar Therapeutics will post -0.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the company. BTIG Research boosted their price objective on Nektar Therapeutics from $60.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. B. Riley boosted their price objective on Nektar Therapeutics from $60.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Nektar Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $15.00 to $30.00 in a report on Friday, April 11th. William Blair restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Nektar Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Nektar Therapeutics currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $88.33.

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.