Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) Given New $120.00 Price Target at HC Wainwright

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) had its target price increased by analysts at HC Wainwright to $120.00 in a research note issued on Tuesday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock. HC Wainwright’s price target indicates a potential upside of 390.80% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on NKTR. Oppenheimer raised shares of 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. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Nektar Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $15.00 to $30.00 in a research note on Friday, April 11th. William Blair reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Nektar Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $76.43.

Nektar Therapeutics Price Performance

Nektar Therapeutics stock traded up $14.91 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $24.45. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 36,999,308 shares, compared to its average volume of 295,225. The stock has a market cap of $303.42 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.55 and a beta of 0.55. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $10.09 and a 200-day moving average price of $11.84. Nektar Therapeutics has a 12 month low of $6.48 and a 12 month high of $27.41.

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.61 million. Nektar Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 152.49% and a negative return on equity of 329.54%. During the same period last year, the company posted ($2.70) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Nektar Therapeutics will post -0.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nektar Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NKTR. Voya Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 46.8% during the first quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 266,773 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $181,000 after buying an additional 85,094 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers grew its holdings in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 23.3% during the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 221,761 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $151,000 after buying an additional 41,948 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 1.4% during the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 7,301,734 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $4,961,000 after buying an additional 100,645 shares during the last quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics during the first quarter valued at approximately $344,000. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics during the first quarter valued at approximately $68,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.88% of the company’s stock.

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.