Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) Now Covered by Analysts at Leerink Partners

Leerink Partners assumed coverage on shares of Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) in a research report released on Monday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage issued an outperform rating and a $130.00 target price on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group began coverage on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $153.00 price objective on the stock. Wedbush decreased their target price on shares of Nektar Therapeutics from $80.00 to $50.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, August 21st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $65.00 target price for the company. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a report on Monday. They set a “neutral” rating and a $53.00 price target on the stock. Finally, BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $178.00 price target on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research note on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $130.67.

Nektar Therapeutics Trading Down 3.2%

Shares of NASDAQ NKTR opened at $39.84 on Monday. Nektar Therapeutics has a one year low of $33.40 and a one year high of $109.00. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $65.92 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $69.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.36 billion, a PE ratio of -5.95 and a beta of 1.26.

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.23) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.97) by $0.74. The company had revenue of $10.13 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.43 million. Nektar Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 37.87% and a negative net margin of 287.84%. Research analysts anticipate that Nektar Therapeutics will post -8.16 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Howard Robin sold 418 shares of Nektar Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.98, for a total transaction of $30,087.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 54,627 shares in the company, valued at $3,932,051.46. The trade was a 0.76% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nektar Therapeutics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Armistice Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 122.4% during 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 during the last quarter. Sofinnova Investments Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 270.4% during the 4th quarter. Sofinnova Investments Inc. now owns 438,630 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $18,545,000 after purchasing an additional 320,211 shares in the last quarter. BVF Inc. IL raised its holdings in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 22.2% during the 4th quarter. BVF Inc. IL now owns 1,559,595 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $65,940,000 after purchasing an additional 283,000 shares in the last quarter. Orbimed Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics in the 1st quarter valued at $19,786,000. Finally, Two Seas Capital LP lifted its stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 8.2% in the 3rd quarter. Two Seas Capital LP now owns 3,345,978 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $202,582,000 after purchasing an additional 253,744 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.88% of the company’s stock.

Nektar Therapeutics Company Profile

Nektar Therapeutics is a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing medicines that use the body’s immune system to treat cancer and autoimmune diseases. The company’s research programs are based on proprietary drug-design and immunology technologies intended to improve the activity, targeting, or dosing of therapeutic agents.

Nektar’s pipeline has included NKTR-255, an investigational interleukin-15 receptor agonist designed to activate natural killer cells and support antitumor immune responses.