Analysts Set Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) Target Price at $88.33

Key Points

• Nektar Therapeutics has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from seven analysts, with one hold and six buy recommendations.
• The average 1-year price target for Nektar Therapeutics among analysts is $88.33, significantly higher than its current trading price of $22.96.
• Despite its positive stock ratings, Nektar Therapeutics recently reported disappointing earnings, with an EPS of (3.30) that fell short of expectations of (2.70).

Shares of Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR - Get Free Report) have received an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the seven analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $88.3333.

Several research analysts have recently commented on NKTR shares. B. Riley boosted their price target on Nektar Therapeutics from $60.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered Nektar Therapeutics from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. William Blair reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, May 12th. BTIG Research boosted their price target on Nektar Therapeutics from $60.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, HC Wainwright upped their target price on Nektar Therapeutics to $120.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th.

Nektar Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of Nektar Therapeutics stock traded down $0.03 on Friday, reaching $22.53. The company had a trading volume of 249,922 shares, compared to its average volume of 858,989. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $18.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $13.96. Nektar Therapeutics has a 1 year low of $6.45 and a 1 year high of $37.38. The firm has a market cap of $279.60 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.34 and a beta of 0.95.

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($3.30) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($2.70) by ($0.60). The business had revenue of $10.46 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.61 million. Nektar Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 152.49% and a negative return on equity of 329.54%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($2.70) EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Nektar Therapeutics will post -0.72 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Nektar Therapeutics

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Two Sigma Securities LLC grew its stake in Nektar Therapeutics by 56.3% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Securities LLC now owns 27,654 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 9,958 shares during the last quarter. Harvest Investment Services LLC purchased a new stake in Nektar Therapeutics during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. US Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Nektar Therapeutics during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Algert Global LLC purchased a new stake in Nektar Therapeutics during the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, US Bancorp DE grew its stake in Nektar Therapeutics by 257.8% during the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 50,085 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 36,085 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.