Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) Hits New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $78.95 and last traded at $77.2410, with a volume of 28224 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $77.85.

Nektar Therapeutics News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Nektar Therapeutics this week:

• Neutral Sentiment: Nektar has been assigned an average analyst rating of “Moderate Buy,” which supports longer‑term upside but doesn’t offset near‑term legal concerns. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman announces a class action filed against Nektar and certain officers covering the Feb. 26, 2025–Dec. 25, 2025 period — an active filing that formalizes investor claims and could lead to litigation expense and distraction. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: The Gross Law Firm issued a shareholder alert inviting investors with losses to join a securities class action — another solicitation that underscores multiple simultaneous suits. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Faruqi & Faruqi reminds investors of the May 5, 2026 deadline to seek lead‑plaintiff status and is actively soliciting those who purchased NKTR during the class period — deadline reminders tend to concentrate selling near-term. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple other firms (Rosen, Pomerantz, Bragar Eagel & Squire, Schall, Bernstein Liebhard, Rosen Global, Rosen Law Firm notices) have either filed suits or issued lead‑plaintiff solicitations covering the same class period, intensifying litigation risk and potential settlement exposure. Representative filings/alerts: Pomerantz and Bragar. Read More. | Read More.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NKTR has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, December 29th. B. Riley Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price target (up from $105.00) on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. BTIG Research lifted their price target on Nektar Therapeutics from $118.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $105.00 price target on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $140.00 price target on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Nektar Therapeutics presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $128.13.

Nektar Therapeutics Stock Down 0.4%

The company has a market cap of $2.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.60 and a beta of 1.16. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $67.70 and a 200 day simple moving average of $57.45.

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 12th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.78) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($2.69) by $0.91. Nektar Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 386.16% and a negative net margin of 297.07%.The company had revenue of $21.81 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.44 million. As a group, research analysts expect that Nektar Therapeutics will post -0.72 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Nektar Therapeutics

In other Nektar Therapeutics news, insider Jonathan Zalevsky sold 3,867 shares of Nektar Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.67, for a total value of $137,935.89. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 21,354 shares in the company, valued at approximately $761,697.18. This trade represents a 15.33% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Howard W. Robin sold 423 shares of Nektar Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.00, for a total value of $30,879.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 75,489 shares in the company, valued at $5,510,697. This trade represents a 0.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 4,470 shares of company stock worth $181,955 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 5.25% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 93.8% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 434 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Compass Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Nektar Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $88,000. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 1,741.2% in the 3rd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,565 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $90,000 after purchasing an additional 1,480 shares during the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Nektar Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $96,000. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Nektar Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $85,000. 75.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Nektar Therapeutics Company Profile

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) is a biopharmaceutical company dedicated to discovering and developing novel drug candidates through its proprietary chemistry and immunology platforms. The company focuses on polymer conjugate technology, which enables the creation of longer-acting versions of existing drugs, and on T-cell modulatory therapies aimed at harnessing the body’s immune system to treat cancer and other serious diseases.

Nektar’s product portfolio and pipeline include a range of clinical-stage and partnered programs.