Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Sells 31,702 Shares of Nektar Therapeutics $NKTR

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. reduced its position in shares of Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR - Free Report) by 2.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,434,457 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 31,702 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned about 0.77% of Nektar Therapeutics worth $975,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Squarepoint Ops LLC bought a new position in Nektar Therapeutics during the 4th quarter valued at $130,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Nektar Therapeutics during the 1st quarter valued at $41,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Nektar Therapeutics by 10.4% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 522,409 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $486,000 after purchasing an additional 49,319 shares in the last quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. boosted its stake in Nektar Therapeutics by 267.0% during the 4th quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 175,193 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $163,000 after purchasing an additional 127,459 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers boosted its stake in Nektar Therapeutics by 23.3% during the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 221,761 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $151,000 after purchasing an additional 41,948 shares in the last quarter. 75.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Transactions at Nektar Therapeutics

In related news, CEO Howard W. Robin sold 1,500 shares of Nektar Therapeutics 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 owned 67,840 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,046,054.40. This trade represents a 2.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 4,959 shares of company stock worth $138,917 over the last ninety days. 5.25% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Nektar Therapeutics Trading Up 11.7%

NASDAQ NKTR traded up $4.20 during trading on Friday, reaching $40.18. 1,705,533 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 799,520. Nektar Therapeutics has a fifty-two week low of $6.45 and a fifty-two week high of $40.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $764.22 million, a PE ratio of -4.57 and a beta of 1.06. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $25.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $16.36.

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($2.95) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($3.13) by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $11.18 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.42 million. Nektar Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 631.43% and a negative net margin of 163.17%. Equities analysts forecast 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.