Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) Shares Gap Down - What's Next?

Key Points

• Nektar Therapeutics shares fell sharply: The stock opened at $55.41 versus a prior close of $60.54 and later traded near $50, well below its 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
• Analyst opinions are mixed: Ratings range from Strong Buy and Buy to Neutral and Sell, while the consensus is “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of $138.50.
• The company remains financially challenged: Nektar reported a quarterly loss of $1.23 per share, negative net margin and return on equity, while institutional investors hold approximately 75.88% of its shares.

Shares of Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR - Get Free Report) gapped down before the market opened on Thursday. The stock had previously closed at $60.54, but opened at $55.41. Nektar Therapeutics shares last traded at $50.0130, with a volume of 862,433 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on NKTR. Wedbush decreased their price objective on shares of Nektar Therapeutics from $80.00 to $50.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a report on Friday, August 28th. BTIG Research reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $178.00 price objective on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, September 25th. TD Cowen raised shares of Nektar Therapeutics to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on Nektar Therapeutics in a report on Friday, August 21st. They set a "neutral" rating and a $65.00 target price for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $138.50.

Nektar Therapeutics Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.61 billion, a P/E ratio of -7.06 and a beta of 1.14. The business has a fifty day moving average of $70.54 and a 200-day moving average of $71.43.

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.23) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.97) by $0.74. The company had revenue of $10.13 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.43 million. Nektar Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 287.84% and a negative return on equity of 37.87%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Nektar Therapeutics will post -8.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Nektar Therapeutics

In other news, CEO Howard Robin sold 418 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.98, for a total transaction of $30,087.64. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 54,627 shares in the company, valued at $3,932,051.46. The trade was a 0.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Two Seas Capital LP acquired a new position in Nektar Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth $31,506,000. Armistice Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 122.4% in the 4th quarter. Armistice Capital LLC now owns 596,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $25,199,000 after acquiring an additional 328,000 shares during the period. Sofinnova Investments Inc. increased its stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 270.4% during the 4th quarter. Sofinnova Investments Inc. now owns 438,630 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $18,545,000 after purchasing an additional 320,211 shares during the last quarter. BVF Inc. IL raised its holdings in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 22.2% in the 4th quarter. BVF Inc. IL now owns 1,559,595 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $65,940,000 after purchasing an additional 283,000 shares during the period. Finally, Orbimed Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics in the 1st quarter valued at about $19,786,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.88% of the company's stock.

Nektar Therapeutics Company Profile

Nektar Therapeutics is a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing medicines that use the body's immune system to treat cancer and autoimmune diseases. The company's research programs are based on proprietary drug-design and immunology technologies intended to improve the activity, targeting, or dosing of therapeutic agents.

Nektar's pipeline has included NKTR-255, an investigational interleukin-15 receptor agonist designed to activate natural killer cells and support antitumor immune responses.

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