Mackenzie Financial Corp Buys 417,651 Shares of Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR)

Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its holdings in shares of Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR - Free Report) by 801.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 469,769 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after acquiring an additional 417,651 shares during the quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp owned approximately 0.25% of Nektar Therapeutics worth $437,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of NKTR. Two Sigma Securities LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 last quarter. Harvest Investment Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Nektar Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. US Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Nektar Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 42.4% during the 4th quarter. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC now owns 50,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 14,895 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 49.0% during the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.88% of the company's stock.

Nektar Therapeutics Stock Down 1.3%

NKTR stock traded down $0.01 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $0.67. The company had a trading volume of 2,043,946 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,851,889. The company has a market capitalization of $123.95 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.79 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $0.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $0.83. Nektar Therapeutics has a 12-month low of $0.43 and a 12-month high of $1.52.

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.22) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.18) by ($0.04). Nektar Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 173.28% and a negative net margin of 180.70%. The firm had revenue of $10.46 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.61 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.18) earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Nektar Therapeutics will post -0.72 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NKTR has been the topic of several analyst reports. Oppenheimer upgraded shares of Nektar Therapeutics from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $6.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Nektar Therapeutics from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. William Blair restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, May 12th. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and set a $6.50 target price on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Nektar Therapeutics from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $1.00 to $2.00 in a research note on Friday, April 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $4.50.

Nektar Therapeutics Company 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.