Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) Shares Gap Up – What’s Next?

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) shares gapped up before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $69.36, but opened at $73.31. Nektar Therapeutics shares last traded at $70.28, with a volume of 117,685 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on NKTR. Citigroup boosted their price target on Nektar Therapeutics from $123.00 to $151.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded Nektar Therapeutics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, May 17th. Wedbush dropped their price objective on Nektar Therapeutics from $95.00 to $80.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 11th. Canaccord Genuity Group assumed coverage on Nektar Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $153.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Ten equities 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Nektar Therapeutics has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $150.00.

Nektar Therapeutics Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $2.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.40 and a beta of 1.13. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $65.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $65.44.

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.82) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.58) by ($0.24). Nektar Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 284.18% and a negative return on equity of 85.40%. The business had revenue of $10.86 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.69 million. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Nektar Therapeutics will post -9.37 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Jonathan Zalevsky sold 5,681 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total value of $397,670.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 9,756 shares in the company, valued at approximately $682,920. This trade represents a 36.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Howard W. Robin sold 10,000 shares of Nektar Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.32, for a total transaction of $603,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 65,045 shares in the company, valued at $3,923,514.40. This trade represents a 13.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 21,862 shares of company stock worth $1,379,205. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Nektar Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of NKTR. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 93.8% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 434 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV acquired a new stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics during the 1st quarter valued at $52,000. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its holdings in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 90,743 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,837,000 after acquiring an additional 743 shares in the last quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC grew its position in Nektar Therapeutics by 15.8% during the 2nd quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC now owns 5,500 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $383,000 after acquiring an additional 750 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bayforest Capital Ltd grew its position in Nektar Therapeutics by 51.3% during the 4th quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 2,541 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $107,000 after acquiring an additional 862 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.88% of the company’s stock.

About Nektar Therapeutics

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.