Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) Stock Passes Above 200-Day Moving Average - What's Next?

Shares of Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR - Get Free Report) crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $13.40 and traded as high as $26.35. Nektar Therapeutics shares last traded at $25.00, with a volume of 903,537 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. William Blair restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Wall Street Zen cut Nektar Therapeutics from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. B. Riley lifted their price objective on Nektar Therapeutics from $60.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Nektar Therapeutics from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $15.00 to $30.00 in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, HC Wainwright raised their target price on Nektar Therapeutics to $120.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Nektar Therapeutics presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $88.33.

Nektar Therapeutics Price Performance

The firm's fifty day moving average price is $17.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $13.55. The company has a market capitalization of $310.25 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.61 and a beta of 0.94.

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($3.30) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($2.70) by ($0.60). Nektar Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 152.49% and a negative return on equity of 329.54%. The firm had revenue of $10.46 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.61 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($2.70) EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Nektar Therapeutics will post -0.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Nektar Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 50.6% in the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 94,152 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $88,000 after buying an additional 31,654 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Nektar Therapeutics by 29.5% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,182,995 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,100,000 after purchasing an additional 269,695 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Nektar Therapeutics by 10.4% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 522,409 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $486,000 after purchasing an additional 49,319 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its position in Nektar Therapeutics by 26.5% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 108,975 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $101,000 after purchasing an additional 22,822 shares during the period. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 17.5% during the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 3,910,786 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $3,637,000 after buying an additional 583,153 shares during the last quarter. 75.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.