Traders Purchase High Volume of Call Options on Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR)

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) saw some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Stock investors acquired 3,883 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 26% compared to the typical volume of 3,071 call options.

Nektar Therapeutics Trading Down 7.6%

Shares of NKTR opened at $45.43 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $57.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $39.96. Nektar Therapeutics has a twelve month low of $6.45 and a twelve month high of $66.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $924.05 million, a PE ratio of -5.70 and a beta of 1.27.

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.85) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($2.85) by $1.00. Nektar Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 456.53% and a negative net margin of 192.87%.The business had revenue of $11.79 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.20 million. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Nektar Therapeutics will post -0.72 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Howard W. Robin sold 2,207 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.28, for a total value of $119,795.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 54,245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,944,418.60. This represents a 3.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jonathan Zalevsky sold 1,157 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.28, for a total transaction of $62,801.96. Following the transaction, the insider owned 18,971 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,029,745.88. This trade represents a 5.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 3,994 shares of company stock valued at $216,794. 5.25% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nektar Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NKTR. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position 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 valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the period. FNY Investment Advisers LLC increased its stake in Nektar Therapeutics by 70.6% in the 3rd quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC now owns 2,602 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $148,000 after purchasing an additional 1,077 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its holdings in Nektar Therapeutics by 1,741.2% during the third quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,565 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $90,000 after purchasing an additional 1,480 shares during the last quarter. Compass Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Nektar Therapeutics during the third quarter worth $88,000. Finally, Bayforest Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in Nektar Therapeutics during the third quarter worth $96,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.88% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on NKTR. B. Riley increased their target price on shares of Nektar Therapeutics from $85.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 23rd. BTIG Research upped their price objective on Nektar Therapeutics from $100.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Citigroup assumed coverage on Nektar Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, November 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $102.00 price objective for the company. HC Wainwright lifted their target price on Nektar Therapeutics from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research note on Monday. Six 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $111.83.

Nektar Therapeutics Company Profile

Nektar Therapeutics, a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on discovering and developing medicines in the field of immunotherapy in the United States and internationally. The company is developing rezpegaldesleukin, a cytokine Treg stimulant that is in phase 2 clinical trial for the treatment of systemic lupus erythematosus and ulcerative colitis, as well as phase 2b clinical trial to treat atopic dermatitis and psoriasis; and NKTR-255, an IL-15 receptor agonist, which is in phase 1 clinical trial to boost the immune system's natural ability to fight cancer.