Two Seas Capital LP Grows Stock Position in Nektar Therapeutics $NKTR

Key Points

• Two Seas Capital increased its Nektar Therapeutics stake by 8.2% in the third quarter, bringing its holdings to 3.35 million shares, or roughly 9.8% of NKTR. Institutional investors collectively own 75.88% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with Nektar carrying a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $138.50, despite differing targets ranging from $50 to $185.
• NKTR shares fell 5.5% to $39.91, well below their 52-week high of $109. The company remains unprofitable, reporting a quarterly loss of $1.23 per share and analysts forecasting a full-year loss of $8.16 per share.

Two Seas Capital LP boosted its holdings in shares of Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR - Free Report) by 8.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,345,978 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after purchasing an additional 253,744 shares during the period. Nektar Therapeutics accounts for approximately 2.3% of Two Seas Capital LP's holdings, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Two Seas Capital LP owned approximately 9.80% of Nektar Therapeutics worth $202,582,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of NKTR. Readystate Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at $5,942,000. Orbimed Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Nektar Therapeutics in the first quarter worth about $19,786,000. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 97.5% during the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 28,682 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $2,064,000 after purchasing an additional 14,162 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank increased its holdings in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 50.2% in the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 47,900 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $3,446,000 after purchasing an additional 16,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Braidwell LP raised its position in Nektar Therapeutics by 112.7% in the 2nd quarter. Braidwell LP now owns 473,617 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $33,063,000 after purchasing an additional 250,916 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.88% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Howard Robin sold 418 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.98, for a total transaction of $30,087.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 54,627 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,932,051.46. The trade was a 0.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. 2.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NKTR has been the subject of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on Nektar Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, August 21st. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $65.00 target price for the company. TD Cowen raised Nektar Therapeutics to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 24th. Wedbush reduced their target price on shares of Nektar Therapeutics from $80.00 to $50.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 23rd. Canaccord Genuity Group began coverage on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $153.00 price target for the company. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and set a $185.00 price target on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research note on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $138.50.

Nektar Therapeutics Stock Down 5.5%

NASDAQ NKTR traded down $2.31 on Tuesday, reaching $39.91. The company had a trading volume of 1,956,520 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,097,983. The stock's 50 day moving average is $68.97 and its 200-day moving average is $70.81. The stock has a market cap of $1.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.96 and a beta of 1.26. Nektar Therapeutics has a 52 week low of $33.40 and a 52 week high of $109.00.

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.23) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.97) by $0.74. The firm had revenue of $10.13 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.43 million. Nektar Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 37.87% and a negative net margin of 287.84%. As a group, analysts forecast that Nektar Therapeutics will post -8.16 EPS for the current year.

Nektar Therapeutics Profile

Nektar Therapeutics is a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing medicines that use the body's immune system to treat cancer and autoimmune diseases. The company's research programs are based on proprietary drug-design and immunology technologies intended to improve the activity, targeting, or dosing of therapeutic agents.

Nektar's pipeline has included NKTR-255, an investigational interleukin-15 receptor agonist designed to activate natural killer cells and support antitumor immune responses.

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