Contrasting Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) & Pivotal Therapeutics (OTCMKTS:PVTTF)

Pivotal Therapeutics (OTCMKTS:PVTTF) and Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) are both medical companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, profitability, earnings, risk, valuation, dividends and analyst recommendations.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for Pivotal Therapeutics and Nektar Therapeutics, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Pivotal Therapeutics	0	0	0	0	0.00
Nektar Therapeutics	1	1	6	0	2.63

Nektar Therapeutics has a consensus target price of $106.33, indicating a potential upside of 86.13%. Given Nektar Therapeutics’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Nektar Therapeutics is more favorable than Pivotal Therapeutics.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

75.9% of Nektar Therapeutics shares are held by institutional investors. 3.7% of Nektar Therapeutics shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Pivotal Therapeutics and Nektar Therapeutics”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Pivotal Therapeutics	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Nektar Therapeutics	$98.43 million	11.81	-$118.96 million	($7.97)	-7.17

Pivotal Therapeutics has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Nektar Therapeutics.

Risk & Volatility

Pivotal Therapeutics has a beta of -1.11, indicating that its share price is 211% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Nektar Therapeutics has a beta of 1.27, indicating that its share price is 27% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Pivotal Therapeutics and Nektar Therapeutics’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Pivotal Therapeutics	N/A	N/A	N/A
Nektar Therapeutics	-192.87%	-456.53%	-57.80%

Summary

Nektar Therapeutics beats Pivotal Therapeutics on 7 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Pivotal Therapeutics

Pivotal Therapeutics Inc., a specialty pharmaceutical company, focuses on the treatment of cardiovascular diseases and overall health. Its lead product, VASCAZEN, is a prescription only medical food formulated for clinical dietary management of cardiovascular disease in patients with documented coronary heart disease and who are deficient in blood Omega-3 fatty acids, eicosapentaenoic acid, and docosahexanenoic acid levels. The company also offers OMAZEN for the maintenance of good health through elevating Omega-3 fatty acid levels. In addition, the company develops Benefishial product line for overall health, cardiovascular health, prenatal health, toddler’s health, child’s health, and pet’s health. Further, it is developing PVT-100 indicated for the stabilization of vulnerable plaque in patients undergoing carotid endarterectomy. Pivotal Therapeutics Inc. sells VASCAZEN in the United States and OMAZEN in Canada. The company is headquartered in Woodbridge, Canada.

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. It has collaboration agreements with Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Ltd.; AstraZeneca AB; UCB Pharma S.A.; F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd; Bausch Health Companies Inc.; Pfizer Inc.; Amgen Inc.; UCB Pharma (Biogen); Bristol-Myers Squibb Company; Merck KGaA; and SFJ Pharmaceuticals, Inc. The company was incorporated in 1990 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California.