Nektar Therapeutics Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NASDAQ:NKTR)

by · The Cerbat Gem

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR – Get Free Report) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock investors acquired 3,883 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 26% compared to the typical daily volume of 3,071 call options.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Jonathan Zalevsky sold 1,157 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.28, for a total transaction of $62,801.96. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 18,971 shares in the company, valued at $1,029,745.88. The trade was a 5.75% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Mark Andrew Wilson sold 630 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.28, for a total transaction of $34,196.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 21,585 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,171,633.80. This trade represents a 2.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 3,994 shares of company stock valued at $216,794. 3.71% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 93.8% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 434 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Algert Global LLC acquired a new stake in Nektar Therapeutics during the first quarter worth approximately $33,000. US Bancorp DE increased its stake in Nektar Therapeutics by 257.8% during the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 50,085 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 36,085 shares during the period. FNY Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Nektar Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter valued at $65,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.88% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NKTR has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $121.00 price objective (up previously from $99.00) on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, November 24th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Nektar Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Sunday, November 16th. B. Riley upped their price objective on shares of Nektar Therapeutics from $85.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 23rd. Finally, Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, November 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $102.00 price objective on the stock. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $106.33.

Get Our Latest Analysis on Nektar Therapeutics

Nektar Therapeutics Trading Down 6.3%

NKTR stock traded down $3.34 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $49.97. 2,619,495 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 882,854. Nektar Therapeutics has a 12 month low of $6.45 and a 12 month high of $66.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.02 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.28 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $58.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $39.65.

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.85) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($2.85) by $1.00. Nektar Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 192.87% and a negative return on equity of 456.53%. The business had revenue of $11.79 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.20 million. On average, equities research analysts predict that Nektar Therapeutics will post -0.72 earnings per share for the current year.

About Nektar Therapeutics

(Get Free Report)

Nektar Therapeutics, a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on discovering and developing medicines in the field of immunotherapy in the United States and internationally. The company is developing rezpegaldesleukin, a cytokine Treg stimulant that is in phase 2 clinical trial for the treatment of systemic lupus erythematosus and ulcerative colitis, as well as phase 2b clinical trial to treat atopic dermatitis and psoriasis; and NKTR-255, an IL-15 receptor agonist, which is in phase 1 clinical trial to boost the immune system's natural ability to fight cancer.

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