Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the seven brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has given a hold recommendation and five have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $89.00.

Several research analysts have issued reports on NKTR shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 price target on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Nektar Therapeutics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, B. Riley boosted their price objective on shares of Nektar Therapeutics from $85.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 23rd.

Insider Activity at Nektar Therapeutics

In related news, CEO Howard W. Robin sold 6,666 shares of Nektar Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.69, for a total transaction of $311,235.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 49,342 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,303,777.98. The trade was a 11.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Jonathan Zalevsky sold 1,721 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.52, for a total value of $57,687.92. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 17,462 shares in the company, valued at $585,326.24. This trade represents a 8.97% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 25,178 shares of company stock worth $938,776 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 5.25% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Algert Global LLC acquired a new stake in Nektar Therapeutics in the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. US Bancorp DE lifted its holdings in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 257.8% in the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 50,085 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 36,085 shares in the last quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at about $39,000. Cerity Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics in the first quarter valued at approximately $52,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at approximately $65,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.88% of the company’s stock.

Nektar Therapeutics Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of NKTR opened at $55.97 on Monday. Nektar Therapeutics has a twelve month low of $6.45 and a twelve month high of $66.92. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $54.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $30.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.06 billion, a PE ratio of -6.36 and a beta of 1.19.

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.85) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($2.85) by $1.00. The business had revenue of $11.79 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.20 million. Nektar Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 631.43% and a negative net margin of 163.17%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Nektar Therapeutics will post -0.72 EPS for the current year.

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.