Jonathan Zalevsky Sells 199 Shares of Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) Stock

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) insider Jonathan Zalevsky sold 199 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.51, for a total value of $13,036.49. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 20,975 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,374,072.25. The trade was a 0.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.

Nektar Therapeutics Price Performance

NASDAQ:NKTR opened at $66.61 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.91 and a beta of 1.24. Nektar Therapeutics has a 1 year low of $7.99 and a 1 year high of $109.00. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $77.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $61.81.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nektar Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 336.9% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,640,851 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,463,000 after acquiring an additional 2,807,595 shares during the last quarter. BVF Inc. IL lifted its stake 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 worth $65,940,000 after acquiring an additional 283,000 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 30.0% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 948,647 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $53,978,000 after acquiring an additional 219,155 shares during the last quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $45,008,000. Finally, Two Seas Capital LP bought a new stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,506,000. 75.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. BTIG Research raised their price objective on Nektar Therapeutics from $151.00 to $178.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. B. Riley Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $150.00 price objective (up from $105.00) on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $140.00 price objective on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Wedbush lowered their price objective on Nektar Therapeutics from $95.00 to $80.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Nektar Therapeutics from $105.00 to $192.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $149.63.

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.