Nantahala Capital Management LLC Sells 20,949 Shares of Nektar Therapeutics $NKTR

Nantahala Capital Management LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) by 0.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,789,051 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 20,949 shares during the quarter. Nantahala Capital Management LLC owned approximately 4.19% of Nektar Therapeutics worth $5,297,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of NKTR. Ieq Capital LLC grew its stake in Nektar Therapeutics by 2,435.4% during the 1st quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 557,222 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $379,000 after buying an additional 535,244 shares during the last quarter. Algert Global LLC acquired a new stake in Nektar Therapeutics in the first quarter valued at $33,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Nektar Therapeutics during the first quarter worth about $222,000. CM Management LLC boosted its holdings in Nektar Therapeutics by 6.7% in the 1st quarter. CM Management LLC now owns 800,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $544,000 after purchasing an additional 50,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE raised its position in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 257.8% during the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 50,085 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 36,085 shares during the last quarter. 75.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Howard W. Robin sold 1,573 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.59, for a total value of $41,826.07. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 69,340 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,843,750.60. This trade represents a 2.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 2,974 shares of company stock worth $79,079 in the last three months. 3.71% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NKTR has been the subject of several recent research reports. BTIG Research increased their price target on Nektar Therapeutics from $60.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. B. Riley lifted their price objective on shares of Nektar Therapeutics from $60.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Nektar Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. William Blair reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, HC Wainwright upped their price objective on shares of Nektar Therapeutics to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $88.33.

Nektar Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of NKTR opened at $29.86 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $24.88 and a 200-day moving average of $15.75. The company has a market cap of $567.94 million, a PE ratio of -3.39 and a beta of 1.05. Nektar Therapeutics has a one year low of $6.45 and a one year high of $37.38.

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($2.95) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($3.13) by $0.18. Nektar Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 163.17% and a negative return on equity of 631.43%. The company had revenue of $11.18 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.42 million. Analysts expect that Nektar Therapeutics will post -0.72 earnings per share for the current year.

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.