Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) Earns Neutral Rating from Analysts at Wedbush

Investment analysts at Wedbush started coverage on shares of Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) in a note issued to investors on Tuesday. The firm set a “neutral” rating and a $70.00 price target on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock. Wedbush’s price objective would indicate a potential downside of 5.84% from the company’s current price.

NKTR has been the topic of several other research reports. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $105.00 price target on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a report on Monday, January 26th. William Blair raised shares of Nektar Therapeutics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Nektar Therapeutics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on Nektar Therapeutics from $102.00 to $123.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 16th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $128.13.

Nektar Therapeutics Stock Up 2.9%

Shares of NASDAQ:NKTR opened at $74.34 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.13 billion, a PE ratio of -7.29 and a beta of 1.16. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $57.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $55.23. Nektar Therapeutics has a twelve month low of $6.45 and a twelve month high of $77.00.

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 12th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.78) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($2.69) by $0.91. The company had revenue of $21.81 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.44 million. Nektar Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 297.07% and a negative return on equity of 386.16%. Analysts expect that Nektar Therapeutics will post -0.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Howard W. Robin sold 423 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.00, for a total transaction of $30,879.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 75,489 shares in the company, valued at $5,510,697. This trade represents a 0.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Jonathan Zalevsky sold 3,867 shares of Nektar Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.67, for a total value of $137,935.89. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 21,354 shares in the company, valued at $761,697.18. This trade represents a 15.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 4,470 shares of company stock worth $181,955. 3.71% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nektar Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NKTR. Seven Fleet Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Nektar Therapeutics during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $634,000. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in Nektar Therapeutics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $584,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 106.3% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 468,159 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $19,794,000 after acquiring an additional 241,262 shares in the last quarter. Creek Drive Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $7,843,000. Finally, KVP Capital Advisors LP bought a new position in shares of Nektar Therapeutics during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,137,000. 75.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Nektar Therapeutics

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.