SG Americas Securities LLC Cuts Stake in Nektar Therapeutics $NKTR

SG Americas Securities LLC reduced its position in Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) by 70.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,235 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 7,719 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in Nektar Therapeutics were worth $233,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 2,807,595 shares in the last quarter. BVF Inc. IL increased its holdings in Nektar Therapeutics by 22.2% during the fourth quarter. BVF Inc. IL now owns 1,559,595 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $65,940,000 after buying an additional 283,000 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Nektar Therapeutics by 30.0% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 948,647 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $53,978,000 after buying an additional 219,155 shares during the period. Farallon Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Nektar Therapeutics in the third quarter worth approximately $45,008,000. Finally, Two Seas Capital LP bought a new position in Nektar Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,506,000. 75.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on NKTR. BTIG Research increased their target price on Nektar Therapeutics from $151.00 to $178.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Wedbush dropped their price objective on Nektar Therapeutics from $95.00 to $80.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Nektar Therapeutics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, May 17th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $149.62.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Howard W. Robin sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.32, for a total value of $603,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 65,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,923,514.40. This trade represents a 13.33% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jonathan Zalevsky sold 5,681 shares of Nektar Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total transaction of $397,670.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 9,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $682,920. This trade represents a 36.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 21,862 shares of company stock worth $1,379,205. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Nektar Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of NKTR stock opened at $70.36 on Friday. Nektar Therapeutics has a 1-year low of $21.02 and a 1-year high of $109.00. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $67.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $63.70. The company has a market cap of $2.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.36 and a beta of 1.13.

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.82) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.58) by ($0.24). The business had revenue of $10.86 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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, equities research analysts anticipate that Nektar Therapeutics will post -9.45 earnings per share for the current year.

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.