Nantahala Capital Management LLC Acquires 3,700,000 Shares of Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR)

Nantahala Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR - Free Report) by 90.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,810,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after acquiring an additional 3,700,000 shares during the quarter. Nantahala Capital Management LLC owned approximately 4.23% of Nektar Therapeutics worth $7,263,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Two Sigma Securities LLC lifted its holdings in Nektar Therapeutics by 56.3% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Securities LLC now owns 27,654 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 9,958 shares during the period. Harvest Investment Services LLC bought a new stake in Nektar Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Nektar Therapeutics by 42.4% during the fourth quarter. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC now owns 50,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 14,895 shares during the period. HB Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Nektar Therapeutics by 44.0% during the fourth quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 64,100 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 19,600 shares during the period. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC lifted its holdings in Nektar Therapeutics by 50.0% during the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 91,470 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $119,000 after acquiring an additional 30,481 shares during the period. 75.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. B. Riley began coverage on Nektar Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. They set a "buy" rating and a $4.00 price target on the stock. Oppenheimer raised 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. StockNews.com began coverage on Nektar Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. They issued a "hold" rating for the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised Nektar Therapeutics from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $1.00 to $2.00 in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $6.50 target price on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $4.50.

Nektar Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of NKTR opened at $0.78 on Monday. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $0.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $0.95. The company has a market capitalization of $144.25 million, a P/E ratio of -0.92 and a beta of 0.69. Nektar Therapeutics has a 1-year low of $0.43 and a 1-year high of $1.93.

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, March 12th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.18) by $0.33. The business had revenue of $29.18 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.65 million. Nektar Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 180.70% and a negative return on equity of 173.28%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Nektar Therapeutics will post -0.72 earnings per share for the current year.

About Nektar Therapeutics

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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