Woodline Partners LP Increases Stock Position in Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR)

Woodline Partners LP boosted its position in Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR - Free Report) by 187.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,974,512 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after acquiring an additional 3,242,841 shares during the quarter. Woodline Partners LP owned 2.70% of Nektar Therapeutics worth $4,626,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Squarepoint Ops LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth $130,000. Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its holdings in Nektar Therapeutics by 12.8% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 1,537,355 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,430,000 after buying an additional 174,185 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted 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 valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 16,543 shares during the period. OCONNOR A Distinct Business Unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in Nektar Therapeutics by 37.4% in the fourth quarter. OCONNOR A Distinct Business Unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,580,916 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,470,000 after buying an additional 430,087 shares during the period. Finally, Graham Capital Management L.P. increased its stake in Nektar Therapeutics by 408.5% in the fourth quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P. now owns 96,911 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $90,000 after purchasing an additional 77,854 shares in the last quarter. 75.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $6.50 price target on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. William Blair reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Nektar Therapeutics from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $1.00 to $2.00 in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Oppenheimer raised shares of Nektar Therapeutics from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $6.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Nektar Therapeutics from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Nektar Therapeutics currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $4.50.

Nektar Therapeutics Stock Down 2.2%

Shares of NKTR stock traded down $0.02 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $0.68. 563,169 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,831,541. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $0.66 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $0.85. Nektar Therapeutics has a 12-month low of $0.43 and a 12-month high of $1.52. The stock has a market cap of $127.30 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.81 and a beta of 0.62.

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.22) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 company 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) EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Nektar Therapeutics will post -0.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.