Nkarta (NASDAQ:NKTX) Stock Price Down 3.1% - Here's Why

Key Points

• Shares fell 3.1% to $2.83 on Monday, trading as low as $2.76 with approximately 1.32 million shares changing hands—about 44% above average volume.
• Analysts are mixed: three Buys, one Hold and one Sell result in a consensus "Hold" rating with an average target price of $11.33.
• Nkarta is a clinical-stage biotech developing off-the-shelf NK cell therapies; it reported Q earnings of ($0.37) versus an expected ($0.32) and has a market cap of about $201.8 million.

Shares of Nkarta, Inc. (NASDAQ:NKTX - Get Free Report) were down 3.1% on Monday . The stock traded as low as $2.76 and last traded at $2.83. Approximately 1,322,599 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 44% from the average daily volume of 917,370 shares. The stock had previously closed at $2.92.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on NKTX shares. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Nkarta in a report on Friday, March 27th. Wall Street Zen lowered Nkarta from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 28th. Needham & Company LLC increased their target price on Nkarta from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of Nkarta from $14.00 to $12.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Nkarta presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $11.33.

Nkarta Stock Performance

The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $2.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $2.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $201.75 million, a P/E ratio of -2.02 and a beta of 0.66.

Nkarta (NASDAQ:NKTX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 25th. The company reported ($0.37) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.32) by ($0.05). As a group, research analysts expect that Nkarta, Inc. will post -1.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Peapod Lane Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Nkarta by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Peapod Lane Capital LLC now owns 676,199 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,251,000 after acquiring an additional 4,933 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of Nkarta by 35.0% during the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 23,663 shares of the company's stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 6,141 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in shares of Nkarta by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 231,081 shares of the company's stock valued at $384,000 after purchasing an additional 8,968 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Nkarta by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,208,378 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,006,000 after purchasing an additional 10,065 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Samalin Investment Counsel LLC lifted its stake in Nkarta by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. Samalin Investment Counsel LLC now owns 150,235 shares of the company's stock valued at $278,000 after purchasing an additional 10,070 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.54% of the company's stock.

Nkarta Company Profile

Nkarta, Inc is a clinical-stage biotechnology company specializing in the development of off-the-shelf natural killer (NK) cell therapies for the treatment of cancer. Leveraging proprietary activation and expansion technologies, Nkarta aims to harness the innate tumor-killing properties of NK cells while incorporating targeted immuno-engineering approaches to enhance safety, potency and persistence in patients. The company's platform supports both allogeneic cell manufacturing and genetic modifications to generate chimeric antigen receptor-expressing NK cell candidates designed to address a range of hematologic and solid tumors.

Nkarta's lead program, NKX019, is an anti-CD19 CAR-NK cell therapy in early-phase clinical trials for relapsed or refractory B-cell malignancies.

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