Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) Receives $106.33 Average PT from Brokerages

Shares of Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the eight analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has given a hold recommendation and six have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $106.3333.

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on NKTR shares. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, November 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $102.00 target price on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Nektar Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Sunday, November 16th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a report on Monday, December 1st. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 target price on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Finally, B. Riley increased their price target on Nektar Therapeutics from $85.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 23rd.

Nektar Therapeutics Trading Down 1.4%

NKTR stock opened at $56.90 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $1.16 billion, a PE ratio of -7.14 and a beta of 1.27. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $58.81 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $37.74. Nektar Therapeutics has a 12-month low of $6.45 and a 12-month high of $66.92.

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.85) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($2.85) by $1.00. Nektar Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 456.53% and a negative net margin of 192.87%.The business had revenue of $11.79 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.20 million. Equities analysts forecast that Nektar Therapeutics will post -0.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Nektar Therapeutics

In related news, insider Mark Andrew Wilson sold 630 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.28, for a total value of $34,196.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 21,585 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,171,633.80. The trade was a 2.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Jonathan Zalevsky sold 1,157 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.28, for a total value of $62,801.96. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 18,971 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,029,745.88. This represents a 5.75% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 10,660 shares of company stock valued at $528,030 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 3.71% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Nektar Therapeutics

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NKTR. Almitas Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 401.1% in the 1st quarter. Almitas Capital LLC now owns 4,610,872 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,135,000 after buying an additional 3,690,647 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in Nektar Therapeutics by 336.9% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,640,851 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,463,000 after buying an additional 2,807,595 shares during the period. Farallon Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Nektar Therapeutics during the third quarter valued at $45,008,000. Ieq Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 2,435.4% in the 1st quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 557,222 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $379,000 after acquiring an additional 535,244 shares during the period. Finally, Fred Alger Management LLC acquired a new position in Nektar Therapeutics during the 1st quarter valued at about $344,000. 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.