Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Sells 362,571 Shares of Nektar Therapeutics $NKTR

Key Points

• Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. has reduced its stake in Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) by 49.6%, selling 362,571 shares during the 1st quarter, leaving them with 368,304 shares valued at approximately $250,000.
• Several institutional investors, including Two Sigma Securities and Price T Rowe Associates, have increased their holdings in Nektar, reflecting continued interest in the biopharmaceutical firm.
• Analysts have varying opinions on Nektar Therapeutics, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a price target averaging $88.33, while recent earnings reported a loss smaller than expected.

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lowered its position in Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR - Free Report) by 49.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 368,304 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 362,571 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. owned 0.20% of Nektar Therapeutics worth $250,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Two Sigma Securities LLC boosted its holdings in Nektar Therapeutics by 56.3% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in Nektar Therapeutics by 6.0% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Nektar Therapeutics by 0.9% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Nektar Therapeutics by 49.0% in the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 50,277 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 16,543 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its holdings in Nektar Therapeutics by 26.5% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.88% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Nektar Therapeutics Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of Nektar Therapeutics stock opened at $26.95 on Thursday. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $22.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $14.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $512.59 million, a P/E ratio of -3.06 and a beta of 0.95. Nektar Therapeutics has a 12 month low of $6.45 and a 12 month high of $37.38.

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($2.95) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($3.13) by $0.18. The business had revenue of $11.18 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.42 million. Nektar Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 631.43% and a negative net margin of 163.17%. Analysts predict 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.

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