Rhumbline Advisers Raises Holdings in Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR)

Rhumbline Advisers increased its stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR - Free Report) by 23.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 221,761 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after purchasing an additional 41,948 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers owned approximately 0.12% of Nektar Therapeutics worth $151,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Two Sigma Securities LLC boosted its stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 56.3% in the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Securities LLC now owns 27,654 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 9,958 shares during the period. Harvest Investment Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. US Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Nektar Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 49.0% in the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 50,277 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 16,543 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. grew its position in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 50.6% during the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 94,152 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $88,000 after acquiring an additional 31,654 shares during the last quarter. 75.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Nektar Therapeutics Stock Down 13.2%

NASDAQ NKTR traded down $3.92 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $25.76. The stock had a trading volume of 4,770,993 shares, compared to its average volume of 441,646. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $11.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $12.20. The company has a market cap of $319.68 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.68 and a beta of 0.55. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($3.30) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($2.70) by ($0.60). The firm had revenue of $10.46 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.61 million. Nektar Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 152.49% and a negative return on equity of 329.54%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($2.70) EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Nektar Therapeutics will post -0.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NKTR has been the topic of several recent research reports. BTIG Research boosted their price objective on shares of Nektar Therapeutics from $60.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Nektar Therapeutics from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $15.00 to $30.00 in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Wall Street Zen cut Nektar Therapeutics from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. William Blair reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised shares of Nektar Therapeutics from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $90.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $76.43.

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.