48,700 Shares in Nektar Therapeutics $NKTR Purchased by Algert Global LLC

Key Points

• Algert Global LLC has acquired a new stake of 48,700 shares in Nektar Therapeutics, valued at approximately $33,000 during the first quarter.
• Nektar Therapeutics recently reported a loss of ($2.95) earnings per share, beating expectations, and generated revenue of $11.18 million, exceeding analysts' predictions.
• Institutional investors now own 75.88% of Nektar Therapeutics' stock, highlighting strong support from large financial entities.

Algert Global LLC purchased a new position in shares of Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 48,700 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock, valued at approximately $33,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NKTR. Two Sigma Securities LLC boosted its position in Nektar Therapeutics by 56.3% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Securities LLC now owns 27,654 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 9,958 shares during the period. US Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. US Bancorp DE lifted its holdings in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 257.8% in the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 50,085 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 36,085 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics in the first quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 49.0% during the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 50,277 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 16,543 shares during the period. 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 recent analyst reports. B. Riley upped their price target on Nektar Therapeutics from $60.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. William Blair reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, May 12th. HC Wainwright upped their target price on Nektar Therapeutics to $120.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Wall Street Zen lowered Nektar Therapeutics from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, BTIG Research upped their price target on Nektar Therapeutics from $60.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $88.33.

Insider Activity at Nektar Therapeutics

In related news, CEO Howard W. Robin sold 1,573 shares of Nektar Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.59, for a total transaction of $41,826.07. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 69,340 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,843,750.60. The trade was a 2.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders sold 2,974 shares of company stock worth $79,079 over the last ninety days. 3.71% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Nektar Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of NKTR traded up $0.52 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $29.86. The company had a trading volume of 381,741 shares, compared to its average volume of 660,508. Nektar Therapeutics has a twelve month low of $6.45 and a twelve month high of $37.38. The company's 50-day moving average is $24.88 and its 200-day moving average is $15.75. The company has a market capitalization of $567.94 million, a P/E ratio of -3.39 and a beta of 1.05.

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($2.95) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $11.18 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.42 million. As a group, equities analysts expect that Nektar Therapeutics will post -0.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Nektar Therapeutics

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.