Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) Trading Up 11% – What’s Next?

by · The Markets Daily

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR – Get Free Report) shot up 11% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $56.25 and last traded at $56.7510. 196,886 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 78% from the average session volume of 876,188 shares. The stock had previously closed at $51.12.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $121.00 price target (up previously from $99.00) on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a report on Monday, November 24th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Nektar Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Sunday, November 16th. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $100.00 price target on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, September 19th. Citigroup started coverage on Nektar Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, November 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $102.00 price target on the stock. Finally, B. Riley boosted their price objective on Nektar Therapeutics from $85.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 23rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $106.33.

View Our Latest Analysis on NKTR

Nektar Therapeutics Stock Up 7.8%

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.12 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.90 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $58.60 and a 200-day moving average price of $38.64.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Nektar Therapeutics news, insider Mark Andrew Wilson sold 630 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.28, for a total transaction of $34,196.40. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 21,585 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,171,633.80. The trade was a 2.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Howard W. Robin sold 2,207 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.28, for a total value of $119,795.96. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 54,245 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,944,418.60. This represents a 3.91% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 3,994 shares of company stock valued at $216,794 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 5.25% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nektar Therapeutics

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in NKTR. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 93.8% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 434 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics during the second quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at approximately $88,000. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its stake in Nektar Therapeutics by 1,741.2% in the third quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,565 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $90,000 after purchasing an additional 1,480 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bayforest Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter worth $96,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.88% of the company’s stock.

Nektar Therapeutics Company Profile

(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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