Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) Hits New 12-Month High - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Nektar Therapeutics' stock reached a new 52-week high of $51.66 with a last trading price of $50.99 and a trading volume of 162,348 shares.
• Multiple brokerages have reaffirmed their bullish outlook on Nektar, with target prices ranging from $85.00 to $120.00 and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."
• The company reported a revenue of $11.18 million for the last quarter, exceeding analyst estimates, and had a negative EPS of ($2.95), beating expectations by $0.18.

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR - Get Free Report)'s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $51.66 and last traded at $50.99, with a volume of 162348 shares. The stock had previously closed at $49.89.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. HC Wainwright lifted their price objective on shares of Nektar Therapeutics to $120.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $100.00 price objective on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research report on Friday. Finally, B. Riley increased their price target on shares of Nektar Therapeutics from $60.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $88.33.

Nektar Therapeutics Stock Down 6.2%

The business's fifty day moving average is $30.90 and its 200 day moving average is $18.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.27 and a beta of 1.06.

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($2.95) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($3.13) by $0.18. Nektar Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 163.17% and a negative return on equity of 631.43%. The firm had revenue of $11.18 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.42 million. Equities research analysts expect that Nektar Therapeutics will post -0.72 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nektar Therapeutics

In other news, CEO Howard W. Robin sold 6,666 shares of Nektar Therapeutics 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 of the company's stock, valued at $2,303,777.98. This trade represents a 11.90% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Jonathan Zalevsky sold 1,721 shares of Nektar Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.52, for a total transaction of $57,687.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 17,462 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $585,326.24. This trade represents a 8.97% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 25,178 shares of company stock worth $938,776 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 5.25% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Nektar Therapeutics

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 7,301,734 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $4,961,000 after buying an additional 100,645 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP boosted its holdings in Nektar Therapeutics by 187.3% in the 4th quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 4,974,512 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $4,626,000 after purchasing an additional 3,242,841 shares during the period. Almitas Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Nektar Therapeutics by 401.1% in the 1st quarter. Almitas Capital LLC now owns 4,610,872 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $3,135,000 after purchasing an additional 3,690,647 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Nektar Therapeutics by 336.9% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,640,851 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $2,463,000 after purchasing an additional 2,807,595 shares during the period. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Nektar Therapeutics by 14.5% in the 1st quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 3,007,928 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $2,045,000 after purchasing an additional 380,967 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.88% of the company's stock.

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.