BIT Capital GmbH Invests $892,000 in Nektar Therapeutics $NKTR

BIT Capital GmbH bought a new position in shares of Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 21,100 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $892,000. BIT Capital GmbH owned 0.10% of Nektar Therapeutics at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in NKTR. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 2,807,595 shares during the period. Farallon Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Nektar Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter valued at about $45,008,000. Two Sigma Investments LP raised its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 354,842 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Nektar Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter valued at about $17,252,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Nektar Therapeutics by 30.0% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 948,647 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $53,978,000 after acquiring an additional 219,155 shares during the period. 75.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Nektar Therapeutics Trading Down 3.4%

NKTR stock opened at $57.32 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $75.88 and its 200 day moving average is $62.22. The stock has a market cap of $1.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.81 and a beta of 1.13. Nektar Therapeutics has a 1-year low of $7.99 and a 1-year high of $109.00.

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.82) earnings per share 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 return on equity of 85.40% and a negative net margin of 284.18%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Nektar Therapeutics will post -9.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on NKTR. 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. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Nektar Therapeutics from $123.00 to $151.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $140.00 price objective on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, March 13th. BTIG Research boosted 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Nektar Therapeutics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, May 17th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $149.63.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nektar Therapeutics

In related news, CEO Howard W. Robin sold 444 shares of the company’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 $29,086.44. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 75,045 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,916,197.95. This represents a 0.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Nektar Therapeutics 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.