Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) Insider Jonathan Zalevsky Sells 186 Shares of Stock

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) insider Jonathan Zalevsky sold 186 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.98, for a total transaction of $13,388.28. Following the transaction, the insider owned 9,570 shares in the company, valued at $688,848.60. The trade was a 1.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.

Jonathan Zalevsky also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, June 30th, Jonathan Zalevsky sold 5,681 shares of Nektar Therapeutics stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total transaction of $397,670.00.
• On Monday, June 15th, Jonathan Zalevsky sold 5,538 shares of Nektar Therapeutics stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.71, for a total transaction of $336,211.98.

Nektar Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ NKTR traded down $1.55 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $74.53. The stock had a trading volume of 438,553 shares, compared to its average volume of 658,059. The company has a 50 day moving average of $69.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $70.33. Nektar Therapeutics has a twelve month low of $26.45 and a twelve month high of $109.00. The firm has a market cap of $2.54 billion, a PE ratio of -11.12 and a beta of 1.14.

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.23) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.97) by $0.74. The company had revenue of $10.13 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.43 million. Nektar Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 37.87% and a negative net margin of 287.84%. Equities research analysts predict that Nektar Therapeutics will post -8.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on NKTR. Wedbush decreased their target price on Nektar Therapeutics from $95.00 to $80.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 11th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Nektar Therapeutics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, May 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Nektar Therapeutics from $105.00 to $192.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $150.00.

Institutional Trading of Nektar Therapeutics

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Nektar Therapeutics by 336.9% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,640,851 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,463,000 after acquiring an additional 2,807,595 shares during the period. BVF Inc. IL lifted its holdings in Nektar Therapeutics by 22.2% in the fourth quarter. BVF Inc. IL now owns 1,559,595 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $65,940,000 after acquiring an additional 283,000 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Nektar Therapeutics by 30.0% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 948,647 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $53,978,000 after acquiring an additional 219,155 shares during the period. Two Seas Capital LP purchased a new stake in Nektar Therapeutics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,506,000. Finally, Armistice Capital LLC boosted its position in Nektar Therapeutics by 122.4% in the 4th quarter. Armistice Capital LLC now owns 596,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $25,199,000 after purchasing an additional 328,000 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.88% of the company’s stock.

Nektar Therapeutics Company 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.