Insider Selling: Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) CEO Sells 444 Shares of Stock

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) CEO Howard Robin sold 444 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.51, for a total transaction of $29,086.44. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 75,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,916,197.95. This trade represents a 0.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.

Nektar Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of NKTR stock traded down $0.91 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $68.58. 584,846 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,093,003. The firm has a market cap of $2.32 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.14 and a beta of 1.24. Nektar Therapeutics has a fifty-two week low of $7.99 and a fifty-two week high of $109.00. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $78.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $61.75.

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.82) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.58) by ($0.24). The company had revenue of $10.86 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.69 million. Nektar Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 85.40% and a negative net margin of 284.18%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Nektar Therapeutics will post -9.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NKTR has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. HC Wainwright lifted their price objective on shares of Nektar Therapeutics from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Wedbush dropped their price target on shares of Nektar Therapeutics from $95.00 to $80.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Nektar Therapeutics from $123.00 to $151.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. TD Cowen began coverage on Nektar Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Nektar Therapeutics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Nektar Therapeutics has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $149.63.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nektar Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in Nektar Therapeutics by 126.0% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 58,958 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $4,242,000 after acquiring an additional 32,866 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in Nektar Therapeutics by 32.5% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 10,729 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $771,000 after acquiring an additional 2,629 shares during the last quarter. ADAR1 Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Nektar Therapeutics by 123.9% during the 1st quarter. ADAR1 Capital Management LLC now owns 161,252 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $11,602,000 after acquiring an additional 89,221 shares during the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its holdings in Nektar Therapeutics by 97.5% during the 1st quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 28,682 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,064,000 after acquiring an additional 14,162 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in Nektar Therapeutics by 131.0% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 16,181 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,164,000 after acquiring an additional 9,176 shares during the last quarter. 75.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Nektar Therapeutics Company Profile

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.