BVF Inc. IL Buys 283,000 Shares of Nektar Therapeutics $NKTR

BVF Inc. IL lifted its stake in Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) by 22.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,559,595 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 283,000 shares during the period. Nektar Therapeutics comprises 2.2% of BVF Inc. IL’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. BVF Inc. IL owned approximately 0.08% of Nektar Therapeutics worth $65,940,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in NKTR. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 336.9% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,640,851 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,463,000 after buying an additional 2,807,595 shares in the last quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Nektar Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter valued at $45,008,000. Two Seas Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Nektar Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at $31,506,000. Prosight Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Nektar Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at $23,450,000. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP raised its stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 446.9% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 434,237 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $24,708,000 after buying an additional 354,842 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.88% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. B. Riley Financial restated 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. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Nektar Therapeutics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, May 17th. HC Wainwright increased their price objective on shares of Nektar Therapeutics from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Citigroup upped their price target on Nektar Therapeutics from $123.00 to $151.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $140.00 price target on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $149.63.

Nektar Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:NKTR opened at $60.92 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $73.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $62.18. Nektar Therapeutics has a fifty-two week low of $8.27 and a fifty-two week high of $109.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.24 and a beta of 1.13.

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.82) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. Research analysts expect that Nektar Therapeutics will post -9.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Nektar Therapeutics

In other news, insider Jonathan Zalevsky sold 5,538 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.71, for a total value of $336,211.98. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 15,437 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $937,180.27. The trade was a 26.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Howard W. Robin sold 444 shares of the business’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 value of $29,086.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 75,045 shares in the company, valued at $4,916,197.95. The trade was a 0.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold a total of 6,181 shares of company stock worth $378,335 over the last three months. 2.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.