Shay Capital LLC Sells 1,243,072 Shares of Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR)

Shay Capital LLC cut its holdings in shares of Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR - Free Report) by 77.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 352,204 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 1,243,072 shares during the period. Shay Capital LLC owned approximately 0.19% of Nektar Therapeutics worth $328,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Two Sigma Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 56.3% in the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Securities LLC now owns 27,654 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 9,958 shares in the last quarter. Harvest Investment Services LLC purchased a new stake in Nektar Therapeutics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Nektar Therapeutics by 42.4% in the 4th quarter. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC now owns 50,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 14,895 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its position in Nektar Therapeutics by 49.0% in the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 50,277 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 16,543 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HB Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 44.0% during the 4th quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 64,100 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 19,600 shares during the last quarter. 75.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Nektar Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:NKTR traded down $0.01 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $0.69. 1,644,224 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,841,311. Nektar Therapeutics has a 12 month low of $0.43 and a 12 month high of $1.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $127.87 million, a PE ratio of -0.82 and a beta of 0.62. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $0.69 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $0.88.

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.22) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.18) by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $10.46 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.61 million. Nektar Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 180.70% and a negative return on equity of 173.28%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.18) earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Nektar Therapeutics will post -0.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on NKTR shares. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $6.50 target price on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Nektar Therapeutics from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the company from $1.00 to $2.00 in a research note on Friday, April 11th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Nektar Therapeutics from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Oppenheimer raised shares of Nektar Therapeutics from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $6.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, William Blair reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a report on Monday, May 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Nektar Therapeutics presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $4.50.

About Nektar Therapeutics

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.