Peapod Lane Capital LLC Sells 530,278 Shares of Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR)

Peapod Lane Capital LLC decreased its stake in Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR - Free Report) by 47.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 577,238 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 530,278 shares during the quarter. Peapod Lane Capital LLC owned approximately 0.31% of Nektar Therapeutics worth $393,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Nantahala Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 90.0% during the fourth quarter. Nantahala Capital Management LLC now owns 7,810,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $7,263,000 after acquiring an additional 3,700,000 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP lifted its holdings in Nektar Therapeutics by 187.3% during the 4th quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 4,974,512 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $4,626,000 after purchasing an additional 3,242,841 shares during the last quarter. Altium Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Nektar Therapeutics by 26,172.0% during the 4th quarter. Altium Capital Management LLC now owns 3,000,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $2,790,000 after purchasing an additional 2,988,581 shares during the last quarter. 22NW LP acquired a new stake in Nektar Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,038,000. Finally, Diadema Partners LP acquired a new stake in Nektar Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $650,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.88% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on NKTR shares. Wall Street Zen lowered Nektar Therapeutics from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. William Blair reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Nektar Therapeutics from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $15.00 to $30.00 in a research note on Friday, April 11th. HC Wainwright upped their target price on Nektar Therapeutics to $120.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised Nektar Therapeutics from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $90.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, March 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $88.33.

Nektar Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:NKTR traded down $0.80 during trading on Friday, hitting $24.30. 793,823 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 499,681. The company has a market cap of $301.49 million, a PE ratio of -2.52 and a beta of 0.94. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $13.94 and a 200 day moving average of $12.83. Nektar Therapeutics has a 52-week low of $6.48 and a 52-week high of $37.38.

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($3.30) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($2.70) by ($0.60). Nektar Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 329.54% and a negative net margin of 152.49%. The company had revenue of $10.46 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.61 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($2.70) EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Nektar Therapeutics will post -0.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.