326,716 Shares in Nektar Therapeutics $NKTR Acquired by Nuveen LLC

Key Points

• Nuveen LLC has acquired 326,716 shares of Nektar Therapeutics, valued at approximately $222,000, marking a new position for the fund.
• Other institutional investors, including Wells Fargo and Voya Investment Management, have also increased their holdings in Nektar Therapeutics significantly during the last quarter.
• Nektar Therapeutics reported earnings that surpassed expectations, with a quarterly revenue of $11.18 million despite a loss of ($2.95) per share.

Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 326,716 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock, valued at approximately $222,000. Nuveen LLC owned about 0.18% of Nektar Therapeutics at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in NKTR. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its holdings in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 26.5% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 108,975 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $101,000 after acquiring an additional 22,822 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 192,978 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $180,000 after acquiring an additional 10,941 shares during the last quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 200.3% during the 4th quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 181,679 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $169,000 after acquiring an additional 121,187 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,414,984 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,316,000 after acquiring an additional 12,826 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 32.8% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 373,948 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $348,000 after acquiring an additional 92,346 shares during the last quarter. 75.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Nektar Therapeutics Stock Up 11.7%

Shares of NKTR stock opened at $40.18 on Friday. Nektar Therapeutics has a twelve month low of $6.45 and a twelve month high of $40.45. The company has a market cap of $764.22 million, a P/E ratio of -4.57 and a beta of 1.06. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $25.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of $16.36.

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($2.95) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($3.13) by $0.18. Nektar Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 631.43% and a negative net margin of 163.17%.The business had revenue of $11.18 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.42 million. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Nektar Therapeutics will post -0.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nektar Therapeutics

In related news, CEO Howard W. Robin sold 1,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.16, for a total transaction of $45,240.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 67,840 shares in the company, valued at $2,046,054.40. This represents a 2.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 4,959 shares of company stock worth $138,917. 5.25% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on NKTR. Wall Street Zen lowered Nektar Therapeutics from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. HC Wainwright upped their price objective on Nektar Therapeutics to $120.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. B. Riley upped their price objective on Nektar Therapeutics from $60.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. BTIG Research upped their price objective on Nektar Therapeutics from $60.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a report on Monday, May 12th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $88.33.

Nektar Therapeutics Profile

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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