Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) Given Average Rating of “Buy” by Brokerages

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) has earned a consensus rating of “Buy” from the eight ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, six have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $67.50.

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised Nektar Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $15.00 to $30.00 in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Wall Street Zen cut Nektar Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $97.50 price target on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. William Blair reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised Nektar Therapeutics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $90.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, March 14th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nektar Therapeutics

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Two Sigma Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 56.3% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Securities LLC now owns 27,654 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 9,958 shares during the last quarter. Harvest Investment Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Nektar Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. US Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Nektar Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Algert Global LLC acquired a new position in shares of Nektar Therapeutics during the first quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, US Bancorp DE lifted its holdings in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 257.8% during the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 50,085 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 36,085 shares during the last quarter. 75.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Nektar Therapeutics Price Performance

NASDAQ:NKTR opened at $8.76 on Friday. Nektar Therapeutics has a fifty-two week low of $6.48 and a fifty-two week high of $22.79. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $9.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $12.26. The stock has a market cap of $1.63 billion, a PE ratio of -10.43 and a beta of 0.55.

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($3.30) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($2.70) by ($0.60). The firm had revenue of $10.46 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.61 million. Nektar Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 180.70% and a negative return on equity of 173.28%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($2.70) EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Nektar Therapeutics will post -0.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Nektar Therapeutics Company Profile

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.