Nantahala Capital Management LLC Raises Stake in 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 disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund 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 about 4.23% of Nektar Therapeutics worth $7,263,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of NKTR. Two Sigma Securities LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 56.3% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Securities LLC now owns 27,654 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 9,958 shares during the last quarter. Harvest Investment Services LLC acquired a new position in Nektar Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Nektar Therapeutics by 42.4% in the 4th quarter. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC now owns 50,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 14,895 shares in the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 44.0% in the 4th 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 last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 50.6% during the 4th 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 period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.88% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on NKTR. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $6.50 price objective on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, March 13th. William Blair restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Nektar Therapeutics from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $1.00 to $2.00 in a report on Friday, April 11th. StockNews.com started coverage on Nektar Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. They issued a "hold" rating on the stock. Finally, Oppenheimer upgraded Nektar Therapeutics from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $6.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, March 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $4.50.

Nektar Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of NKTR stock traded down $0.03 on Friday, hitting $0.75. The stock had a trading volume of 1,399,832 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,816,540. The company's 50 day moving average price is $0.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $0.94. Nektar Therapeutics has a 1 year low of $0.43 and a 1 year high of $1.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $139.95 million, a P/E ratio of -0.90 and a beta of 0.69.

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