Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) Coverage Initiated at Canaccord Genuity Group

Equities researchers at Canaccord Genuity Group started coverage on shares of Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, MarketBeat reports. The firm set a “buy” rating and a $153.00 price target on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock. Canaccord Genuity Group’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 120.59% from the company’s current price.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on NKTR. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Nektar Therapeutics from $105.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Nektar Therapeutics from $123.00 to $151.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. HC Wainwright lifted their price target on shares of Nektar Therapeutics from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Wedbush dropped their price target on shares of 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, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Ten 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $150.00.

Nektar Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of Nektar Therapeutics stock opened at $69.36 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $65.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $65.41. Nektar Therapeutics has a fifty-two week low of $21.02 and a fifty-two week high of $109.00. The firm has a market cap of $2.34 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.24 and a beta of 1.13.

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 firm had revenue of $10.86 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.69 million. Nektar Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 85.40% and a negative net margin of 284.18%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Nektar Therapeutics will post -9.37 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Trading of Nektar Therapeutics

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in Nektar Therapeutics by 93.8% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 434 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV bought a new stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics in the first quarter worth about $52,000. State of Wyoming acquired a new stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics during the first quarter worth about $67,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth about $85,000. Finally, Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Nektar Therapeutics during the 4th quarter valued at about $92,000. Institutional investors own 75.88% of the company’s stock.

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.