Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have issued a hold recommendation, nine have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $141.50.

A number of brokerages have recently commented on NKTR. Wedbush dropped their price objective on shares of Nektar Therapeutics from $95.00 to $80.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Nektar Therapeutics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, May 17th. Canaccord Genuity Group began coverage on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $153.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, August 21st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $65.00 price target on the stock. Finally, TD Cowen raised shares of Nektar Therapeutics to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 24th.

Nektar Therapeutics Stock Down 2.9%

Shares of NKTR opened at $74.19 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.07 and a beta of 1.14. Nektar Therapeutics has a 52 week low of $33.40 and a 52 week high of $109.00. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $71.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $72.09.

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.23) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.97) by $0.74. Nektar Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 37.87% and a negative net margin of 287.84%.The company had revenue of $10.13 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.43 million. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Nektar Therapeutics will post -8.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Key Stories Impacting Nektar Therapeutics

Here are the key news stories impacting Nektar Therapeutics this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks raised its estimated loss for the third quarter of 2026 to $2.45 per share from $3.05, reduced the expected fourth-quarter 2026 loss to $3.07 from $3.26, and improved its full-year 2026 estimate to a loss of $8.58 per share from $10.59. The firm also narrowed its projected first-quarter 2027 loss to $3.17 from $3.41.
• Neutral Sentiment: Despite the near-term improvements, Nektar remains expected to report significant losses. The current consensus estimate is a full-year 2026 loss of $8.51 per share, while Zacks projects losses of $16.15 per share for 2027 and $17.77 per share for 2028.
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks lowered its estimates for several later periods, including the second quarter of 2027 to a loss of $3.06 per share from $2.79, the third quarter of 2027 to $4.28 from $3.45, the fourth quarter of 2027 to $5.65 from $3.63, the second quarter of 2028 to $3.82 from $2.85, and full-year 2027 to $16.15 from $13.28.
• Negative Sentiment: The most pronounced revision was to full-year 2028, with Zacks increasing its projected loss to $17.77 per share from $14.02. These longer-term reductions suggest analysts expect Nektar’s profitability and cash-burn outlook to remain under pressure, weighing on investor sentiment.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Howard W. Robin sold 418 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.98, for a total value of $30,087.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 54,627 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,932,051.46. This represents a 0.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Jonathan Zalevsky sold 5,681 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total value of $397,670.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 9,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $682,920. The trade was a 36.80% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 21,823 shares of company stock worth $1,380,558. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Nektar Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 93.8% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 434 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 210 shares during the period. KBC Group NV acquired a new stake in Nektar Therapeutics in the 1st quarter valued at $52,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in Nektar Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter worth $65,000. State of Wyoming purchased a new stake in Nektar Therapeutics in the 1st quarter worth $67,000. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new position in Nektar Therapeutics during the first quarter worth $68,000. 75.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.