Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Sells 121,001 Shares of Nektar Therapeutics $NKTR

Key Points

• The Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio significantly reduced its holdings in Nektar Therapeutics by selling 121,001 shares, representing a 98.0% decrease in their position.
• CEO Howard W. Robin sold 6,666 shares, resulting in an 11.90% decrease in his ownership, while other insiders also reduced their stakes.
• Nektar Therapeutics' stock has a moderate buy rating from analysts, with price targets ranging from $91.67 to $120.00 following recent research reports.

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio trimmed its holdings in shares of Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR - Free Report) by 98.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,429 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 121,001 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio's holdings in Nektar Therapeutics were worth $63,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Algert Global LLC bought a new stake in Nektar Therapeutics during the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. US Bancorp DE boosted its position in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 257.8% in the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 50,085 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 36,085 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Nektar Therapeutics in the first quarter worth approximately $41,000. Cerity Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Nektar Therapeutics in the first quarter worth approximately $52,000. Finally, 49 Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Nektar Therapeutics in the first quarter worth approximately $56,000. 75.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Howard W. Robin sold 6,666 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.69, for a total value of $311,235.54. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 49,342 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,303,777.98. This represents a 11.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Jonathan Zalevsky sold 1,721 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.52, for a total transaction of $57,687.92. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 17,462 shares in the company, valued at approximately $585,326.24. This represents a 8.97% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 25,178 shares of company stock worth $938,776. 3.71% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on NKTR shares. HC Wainwright upped their price target on shares of Nektar Therapeutics to $120.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. B. Riley upped their price target on shares of Nektar Therapeutics from $85.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 23rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. Finally, BTIG Research reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $100.00 price target on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, September 19th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $91.67.

Nektar Therapeutics Stock Down 3.2%

Nektar Therapeutics stock opened at $58.00 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $1.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.59 and a beta of 1.18. The firm's fifty day moving average is $39.14 and its 200 day moving average is $22.78. Nektar Therapeutics has a 52-week low of $6.45 and a 52-week high of $62.95.

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $11.18 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.42 million. Nektar Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 163.17% and a negative return on equity of 631.43%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Nektar Therapeutics will post -0.72 earnings per share 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.

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