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

Key Points

• BTIG Research reiterated a Buy rating on Nektar Therapeutics and set a $178 price target, implying 205.42% upside from the prior close. MarketBeat data shows a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average target of $138.50.
• Nektar shares fell to $58.28, while the company reported a quarterly loss of $1.23 per share—better than the expected $1.97 loss—on revenue of $10.13 million.
• Analyst views remain mixed, ranging from Strong Buy to Sell, while institutional investors own 75.88% of the company and insiders sold $441,146 worth of shares over the past 90 days.

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy" rating reiterated by analysts at BTIG Research in a report released on Friday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $178.00 target price on the biopharmaceutical company's stock. BTIG Research's target price suggests a potential upside of 205.42% from the stock's previous close.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Wedbush lowered their price target on Nektar Therapeutics from $80.00 to $50.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on Nektar Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, August 21st. They set a "neutral" rating and a $65.00 price target on the stock. TD Cowen raised Nektar Therapeutics to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 24th. Canaccord Genuity Group assumed coverage on Nektar Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $153.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed 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 given a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Nektar Therapeutics has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $138.50.

Nektar Therapeutics Price Performance

NASDAQ NKTR traded down $1.10 during trading on Friday, reaching $58.28. 902,066 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,035,025. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $71.22 and a 200-day moving average price of $71.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.99 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.71 and a beta of 1.14. Nektar Therapeutics has a fifty-two week low of $33.40 and a fifty-two week high of $109.00.

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.23) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.97) by $0.74. The firm had revenue of $10.13 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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, analysts forecast that Nektar Therapeutics will post -8.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Nektar Therapeutics

In related news, CEO Howard W. 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 value of $30,087.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 54,627 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,932,051.46. The trade was a 0.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Jonathan Zalevsky sold 5,681 shares of the business'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 trade represents a 36.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 6,285 shares of company stock worth $441,146 in the last ninety days. 2.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nektar Therapeutics

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. KBC Group NV bought a new stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics in the first quarter valued at approximately $52,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC lifted its stake in Nektar Therapeutics by 15.8% during the second quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC now owns 5,500 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $383,000 after purchasing an additional 750 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming bought a new stake in Nektar Therapeutics during the first quarter worth $67,000. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 1,816 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in Nektar Therapeutics by 32.5% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 10,729 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $771,000 after purchasing an additional 2,629 shares during the last quarter. 75.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Nektar Therapeutics Company Profile

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.