Shay Capital LLC Sells 1,243,072 Shares of Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR)

Shay Capital LLC lessened its holdings in Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) by 77.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 352,204 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 1,243,072 shares during the period. Shay Capital LLC owned approximately 0.19% of Nektar Therapeutics worth $328,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of NKTR. Nantahala Capital Management LLC increased its position in Nektar Therapeutics by 90.0% in the fourth quarter. Nantahala Capital Management LLC now owns 7,810,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $7,263,000 after purchasing an additional 3,700,000 shares during the last quarter. Altium Capital Management LLC increased its position in Nektar Therapeutics by 26,172.0% during the fourth quarter. Altium Capital Management LLC now owns 3,000,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,790,000 after acquiring an additional 2,988,581 shares during the last quarter. 22NW LP bought a new position in Nektar Therapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at $2,038,000. Peapod Lane Capital LLC bought a new position in Nektar Therapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at $1,030,000. Finally, Diadema Partners LP bought a new position in Nektar Therapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at $650,000. Institutional investors own 75.88% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on NKTR. William Blair reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Oppenheimer upgraded shares of Nektar Therapeutics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $6.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 14th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $6.50 price objective on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. StockNews.com cut shares of Nektar Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Nektar Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $1.00 to $2.00 in a research report on Friday, April 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $4.50.

Nektar Therapeutics Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of NKTR opened at $0.69 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $127.48 million, a P/E ratio of -0.82 and a beta of 0.62. Nektar Therapeutics has a 12-month low of $0.43 and a 12-month high of $1.81. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $0.70 and a 200-day moving average price of $0.89.

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.22) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.18) by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $10.46 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.61 million. Nektar Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 180.70% and a negative return on equity of 173.28%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.18) earnings per share. Analysts predict that Nektar Therapeutics will post -0.72 earnings per share for the current year.

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.