Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) Now Covered by Analysts at Wedbush

Wedbush started coverage on shares of Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) in a research report released on Tuesday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage issued a neutral rating and a $70.00 price target on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on NKTR. HC Wainwright increased their target price on Nektar Therapeutics from $135.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. TD Cowen began coverage on Nektar Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded Nektar Therapeutics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. William Blair upgraded Nektar Therapeutics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a report on Monday, January 26th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $128.13.

Nektar Therapeutics Stock Down 1.9%

NASDAQ NKTR opened at $72.96 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $2.09 billion, a P/E ratio of -7.15 and a beta of 1.16. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $58.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $55.46. Nektar Therapeutics has a twelve month low of $6.45 and a twelve month high of $77.00.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Nektar Therapeutics news, CEO Howard W. Robin sold 423 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.00, for a total value of $30,879.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 75,489 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,510,697. The trade was a 0.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jonathan Zalevsky sold 3,867 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider owned 21,354 shares in the company, valued at $761,697.18. The trade was a 15.33% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 4,470 shares of company stock valued at $181,955 in the last quarter. 3.71% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nektar Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust bought a new position in Nektar Therapeutics during the third quarter worth about $13,269,000. Simplify Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 67.6% in the 3rd quarter. Simplify Asset Management Inc. now owns 87,174 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $4,960,000 after acquiring an additional 35,176 shares during the last quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $18,393,000. Moody Aldrich Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 62.3% in the 3rd quarter. Moody Aldrich Partners LLC now owns 73,716 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $4,194,000 after acquiring an additional 28,304 shares during the period. Finally, Farallon Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Nektar Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $45,008,000. Institutional investors own 75.88% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Nektar Therapeutics

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

• Neutral Sentiment: Wedbush initiated coverage with a “neutral” rating and a $70 price target (roughly a low-single-digit downside from the recent price). That call provides modest analyst pressure versus prior momentum but is not a sell signal on its own. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest posts today show 0 shares and NaN increases across several feeds — the numbers are inconsistent with typical market activity and appear to be data errors rather than a real surge in shorts. Treat the short-interest entries as unreliable until official exchange-reported figures are posted.
• Negative Sentiment: A cluster of securities class-action filings and law-firm solicitations hit the tape today, alleging disclosure violations tied to a multi-month class period (Feb. 26, 2025–Dec. 15/25, 2025). Multiple firms (Pomerantz, Schall, Bronstein Gewirtz, Bernstein Liebhard, Rosen, Faruqi, Robbins, Glancy, Gross, DJS and others) are soliciting lead-plaintiff interest and reminding investors of an early-May deadline — this concentrated legal attention raises litigation risk, potential distraction for management, and the prospect of settlement/defense costs, which likely weighed on the stock. Read More.

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.