Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) Given Buy Rating at BTIG Research

by · The Cerbat Gem

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR – Get Free Report)‘s stock had its “buy” rating restated by stock analysts at BTIG Research in a report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $178.00 price target on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock. BTIG Research’s price objective points to a potential upside of 167.11% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Canaccord Genuity Group started coverage on Nektar Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $153.00 price target for the company. TD Cowen raised shares of Nektar Therapeutics to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a report on Friday, August 21st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $65.00 target price for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, August 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $141.50.

Read Our Latest Research Report on NKTR

Nektar Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:NKTR opened at $66.64 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.95 and a beta of 1.14. Nektar Therapeutics has a 1-year low of $33.40 and a 1-year high of $109.00. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $71.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $72.04.

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 13th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.23) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.97) by $0.74. The business had revenue of $10.13 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.43 million. Nektar Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 37.87% and a negative net margin of 287.84%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Nektar Therapeutics will post -8.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Jonathan Zalevsky sold 5,681 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 30th. The stock was 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. The trade was a 36.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Howard Robin sold 418 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.98, for a total transaction of $30,087.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 54,627 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,932,051.46. This represents a 0.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 6,285 shares of company stock valued at $441,146. 2.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Nektar Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of NKTR. WINTON GROUP Ltd boosted its holdings in Nektar Therapeutics by 53.2% during the second quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 25,900 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,808,000 after acquiring an additional 8,990 shares during the period. Engineers Gate Manager LP boosted its position in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 55.9% in the second quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 19,183 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,339,000 after acquiring an additional 6,881 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System increased its position in Nektar Therapeutics by 27.3% during the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 8,477 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $592,000 after acquiring an additional 1,816 shares during the period. Readystate Asset Management LP bought a new stake in Nektar Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter valued at $5,942,000. Finally, HB Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Nektar Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter worth about $650,000. 75.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Nektar Therapeutics

(Get Free Report)

Nektar Therapeutics is a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing medicines that harness the body’s immune system to treat cancer and autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. The company’s research is centered on cytokine biology, immune-cell regulation and its proprietary polymer-conjugation technologies, which are designed to modify therapeutic compounds and potentially improve their duration, delivery or tolerability.

Nektar’s pipeline has included investigational therapies such as rezpegaldesleukin, an immune-modulating treatment being studied for autoimmune and inflammatory conditions.

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