Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has issued a hold recommendation and nine have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $149.6250.

NKTR has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $140.00 price target on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Nektar Therapeutics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, May 17th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Howard W. Robin sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.32, for a total value of $603,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 65,045 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,923,514.40. The trade was a 13.33% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jonathan Zalevsky sold 5,538 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.71, for a total value of $336,211.98. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 15,437 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $937,180.27. This trade represents a 26.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 16,181 shares of company stock valued at $981,535. Insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nektar Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in NKTR. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 93.8% in 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 last quarter. KBC Group NV bought a new stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $52,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $65,000. State of Wyoming bought a new stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $67,000. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $68,000. 75.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Nektar Therapeutics Stock Up 7.7%

Shares of NKTR opened at $65.70 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $72.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $62.23. Nektar Therapeutics has a 52-week low of $8.35 and a 52-week high of $109.00. The firm has a market cap of $2.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.80 and a beta of 1.14.

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.82) earnings per share (EPS) 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 return on equity of 85.40% and a negative net margin of 284.18%. On average, equities analysts expect that Nektar Therapeutics will post -9.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.