Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume - Should You Buy?

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR - Get Free Report) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Monday . Approximately 138,129 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 12% from the previous session's volume of 123,643 shares.The stock last traded at $9.98 and had previously closed at $9.99.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on NKTR shares. William Blair reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a report on Monday, May 12th. Oppenheimer raised shares of Nektar Therapeutics from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $90.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, March 14th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Nektar Therapeutics from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Nektar Therapeutics from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $15.00 to $30.00 in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $97.50 price objective on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $67.50.

Nektar Therapeutics Stock Down 8.3%

The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $9.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $12.26. The company has a market capitalization of $1.63 billion, a PE ratio of -10.43 and a beta of 0.55.

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($3.30) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($2.70) by ($0.60). Nektar Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 173.28% and a negative net margin of 180.70%. The business had revenue of $10.46 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.61 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($2.70) earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Nektar Therapeutics will post -0.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Nektar Therapeutics

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Two Sigma Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 9,958 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 192,978 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $180,000 after purchasing an additional 10,941 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 12.2% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 107,318 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $100,000 after purchasing an additional 11,681 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,414,984 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,316,000 after purchasing an additional 12,826 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 14,895 shares during the last quarter. 75.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.