Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) Now Covered by Leerink Partners

Key Points

• Leerink Partners initiated coverage of Nektar Therapeutics with an “outperform” rating and a $130 price target, implying 215.76% potential upside from the stock’s then-current price.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive: Nektar has an average “Moderate Buy” rating and a consensus price target of $130.67, though ratings range from “Strong Buy” to “Sell.”
• Nektar remains an unprofitable biopharmaceutical company, reporting a quarterly loss of $1.23 per share and $10.13 million in revenue; institutional investors own 75.88% of its shares.

Stock analysts at Leerink Partners began coverage on shares of Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR - Get Free Report) in a research note issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm set an "outperform" rating and a $130.00 price target on the biopharmaceutical company's stock. Leerink Partners' price target suggests a potential upside of 215.76% from the stock's current price.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group started coverage on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $153.00 target price on the stock. TD Cowen raised shares of Nektar Therapeutics to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 24th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, August 28th. BTIG Research restated a "buy" rating and issued a $178.00 price objective on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research note on Friday. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $185.00 price objective on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a report on Friday, October 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $130.67.

Nektar Therapeutics Stock Performance

NKTR stock opened at $41.17 on Monday. Nektar Therapeutics has a twelve month low of $33.40 and a twelve month high of $109.00. The company's 50 day moving average is $66.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $69.88. The stock has a market cap of $1.41 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.14 and a beta of 1.26.

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR - Get Free Report) last issued 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. Nektar Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 287.84% and a negative return on equity of 37.87%. The business had revenue of $10.13 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.43 million. On average, equities research analysts predict that Nektar Therapeutics will post -8.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nektar Therapeutics

In other news, CEO Howard Robin sold 418 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.98, for a total transaction of $30,087.64. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 54,627 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,932,051.46. This trade represents a 0.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal 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. Insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nektar Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Two Seas Capital LP raised its position in Nektar Therapeutics by 8.2% in the 3rd quarter. Two Seas Capital LP now owns 3,345,978 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $202,582,000 after purchasing an additional 253,744 shares during the last quarter. BVF Inc. IL boosted its stake in Nektar Therapeutics by 22.2% during the 4th quarter. BVF Inc. IL now owns 1,559,595 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $65,940,000 after purchasing an additional 283,000 shares during the period. Armistice Capital LLC grew its position in Nektar Therapeutics by 122.4% during the 4th quarter. Armistice Capital LLC now owns 596,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $25,199,000 after purchasing an additional 328,000 shares during the last quarter. Braidwell LP grew its position in Nektar Therapeutics by 112.7% during the 2nd quarter. Braidwell LP now owns 473,617 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $33,063,000 after purchasing an additional 250,916 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sofinnova Investments Inc. grew its position in Nektar Therapeutics by 270.4% during the 4th quarter. Sofinnova Investments Inc. now owns 438,630 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $18,545,000 after purchasing an additional 320,211 shares during the last quarter. 75.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Nektar Therapeutics

Nektar Therapeutics is a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing medicines that use the body's immune system to treat cancer and autoimmune diseases. The company's research programs are based on proprietary drug-design and immunology technologies intended to improve the activity, targeting, or dosing of therapeutic agents.

Nektar's pipeline has included NKTR-255, an investigational interleukin-15 receptor agonist designed to activate natural killer cells and support antitumor immune responses.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.