Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) Given Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Nektar Therapeutics has received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from eight brokerages, with an average 12-month target price of $91.67.
• Recent insider selling includes CEO Howard W. Robin, who sold 6,666 shares at $46.69 each, reducing his ownership by 11.90%.
• The company's recent earnings report surpassed expectations, with a revenue of $11.18 million compared to forecasts of $9.42 million, despite posting an EPS of -$2.95.

Shares of Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the eight ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has assigned a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $91.6667.

NKTR has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. B. Riley lifted their price objective on Nektar Therapeutics from $85.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 23rd. BTIG Research reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $100.00 price target on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, September 19th. HC Wainwright upped their price objective on Nektar Therapeutics to $120.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, October 8th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Nektar Therapeutics news, CEO Howard W. Robin sold 6,666 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.69, for a total value of $311,235.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 49,342 shares in the company, 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 is accessible through this link. Also, insider Jonathan Zalevsky sold 1,721 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.52, for a total value of $57,687.92. Following the sale, the insider owned 17,462 shares in the company, valued at $585,326.24. This trade represents a 8.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 25,178 shares of company stock valued at $938,776 in the last ninety days. 5.25% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Nektar Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter worth $39,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics during the second quarter worth about $65,000. IFP Advisors Inc acquired a new position in shares of Nektar Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter worth about $124,000. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in Nektar Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter valued at about $367,000. Finally, Gainplan LLC acquired a new stake in Nektar Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter worth about $388,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.88% of the company's stock.

Nektar Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ NKTR opened at $56.88 on Thursday. Nektar Therapeutics has a fifty-two week low of $6.45 and a fifty-two week high of $62.95. The company has a market cap of $1.08 billion, a PE ratio of -6.47 and a beta of 1.18. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $43.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $24.54.

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($2.95) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($3.13) by $0.18. The company had revenue of $11.18 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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, sell-side analysts predict 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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