William Blair Brokers Decrease Earnings Estimates for NKTR

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) – Research analysts at William Blair cut their Q2 2025 earnings per share estimates for shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, May 12th. William Blair analyst A. Hsieh now expects that the biopharmaceutical company will post earnings of ($0.20) per share for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of ($0.19). William Blair has a “Market Perform” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Nektar Therapeutics’ current full-year earnings is ($0.72) per share. William Blair also issued estimates for Nektar Therapeutics’ Q3 2025 earnings at ($0.18) EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at ($0.16) EPS, FY2025 earnings at ($0.78) EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at ($0.17) EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at ($0.18) EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at ($0.19) EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at ($0.19) EPS and FY2026 earnings at ($0.74) EPS.

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.22) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.18) by ($0.04). Nektar Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 180.70% and a negative return on equity of 173.28%. The firm had revenue of $10.46 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.61 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.18) EPS.

NKTR has been the topic of several other reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Nektar Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Oppenheimer upgraded Nektar Therapeutics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $6.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Nektar Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $1.00 to $2.00 in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $6.50 price objective on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $4.50.

Nektar Therapeutics Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of Nektar Therapeutics stock opened at $0.72 on Thursday. Nektar Therapeutics has a 12-month low of $0.43 and a 12-month high of $1.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $133.06 million, a P/E ratio of -0.85 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $0.70 and a 200 day simple moving average of $0.89.

Institutional Trading of Nektar Therapeutics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Two Sigma Securities LLC lifted its holdings in Nektar Therapeutics by 56.3% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Securities LLC now owns 27,654 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 9,958 shares in the last quarter. Harvest Investment Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. US Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Nektar Therapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Algert Global LLC acquired a new position in shares of Nektar Therapeutics during the first quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, US Bancorp DE boosted its holdings in Nektar Therapeutics by 257.8% in the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 50,085 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 36,085 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.88% of the company’s stock.

Nektar Therapeutics Company Profile

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.