303,200 Shares in Nektar Therapeutics $NKTR Purchased by Jefferies Financial Group Inc.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 303,200 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,252,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Compass Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Nektar Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $88,000. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 1,741.2% in the third quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,565 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $90,000 after acquiring an additional 1,480 shares during the period. Bayforest Capital Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at approximately $96,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics in the second quarter worth $65,000. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics in the third quarter worth $223,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.88% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nektar Therapeutics

In other news, CEO Howard W. Robin sold 423 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.00, for a total transaction of $30,879.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 75,489 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,510,697. This trade represents a 0.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Jonathan Zalevsky sold 3,867 shares of Nektar Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.67, for a total transaction of $137,935.89. Following the sale, the insider owned 21,354 shares in the company, valued at approximately $761,697.18. This trade represents a 15.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 4,470 shares of company stock worth $181,955 in the last three months. Insiders own 3.71% of the company’s stock.

Nektar Therapeutics Trading Down 2.4%

Shares of NASDAQ NKTR opened at $70.70 on Monday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $50.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $51.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.87 and a beta of 1.16. Nektar Therapeutics has a one year low of $6.45 and a one year high of $75.67.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. B. Riley Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 target price (up from $105.00) on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Nektar Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Sunday, November 16th. William Blair upgraded shares of Nektar Therapeutics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, November 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $102.00 price objective for the company. Finally, BTIG Research increased their target price on shares of Nektar Therapeutics from $118.00 to $151.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $126.29.

Nektar Therapeutics 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.