Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) Price Target Raised to $105.00

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) had its price target boosted by B. Riley from $85.00 to $105.00 in a research report released on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. B. Riley currently has a buy rating on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on the company. HC Wainwright increased their target price on Nektar Therapeutics to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 target price on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $91.67.

Nektar Therapeutics Stock Down 7.8%

NKTR opened at $55.62 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $1.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.32 and a beta of 1.06. Nektar Therapeutics has a 12-month low of $6.45 and a 12-month high of $61.15. The business has a 50 day moving average of $33.61 and a 200-day moving average of $20.17.

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($2.95) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($3.13) by $0.18. The company had revenue of $11.18 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.42 million. Nektar Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 631.43% and a negative net margin of 163.17%. As a group, analysts expect that Nektar Therapeutics will post -0.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Nektar Therapeutics news, insider Jonathan Zalevsky sold 1,721 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.52, for a total value of $57,687.92. Following the sale, the insider owned 17,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $585,326.24. This trade represents a 8.97% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Howard W. Robin sold 6,666 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.69, for a total value of $311,235.54. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 49,342 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,303,777.98. This trade represents a 11.90% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 25,178 shares of company stock worth $938,776. Company insiders own 5.25% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nektar Therapeutics

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics during the 4th quarter valued at $130,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 7,301,734 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $4,961,000 after acquiring an additional 100,645 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics during the 1st quarter valued at $222,000. Fred Alger Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics during the 1st quarter valued at $344,000. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics during the 1st quarter valued at $41,000. 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.