Insider Selling: Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) Insider Sells 199 Shares of Stock

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) insider Jonathan Zalevsky sold 199 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.51, for a total transaction of $13,036.49. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 20,975 shares in the company, valued at $1,374,072.25. This represents a 0.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.

Nektar Therapeutics Stock Down 1.3%

NASDAQ NKTR traded down $0.91 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $68.58. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 584,846 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,093,003. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $78.18 and a 200 day moving average of $61.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.32 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.14 and a beta of 1.24. Nektar Therapeutics has a twelve month low of $7.99 and a twelve month high of $109.00.

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.82) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.58) by ($0.24). The firm had revenue of $10.86 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.69 million. Nektar Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 85.40% and a negative net margin of 284.18%. On average, analysts predict that Nektar Therapeutics will post -9.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nektar Therapeutics

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 126.0% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 58,958 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $4,242,000 after acquiring an additional 32,866 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 32.5% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 10,729 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $771,000 after acquiring an additional 2,629 shares in the last quarter. ADAR1 Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 123.9% during the first quarter. ADAR1 Capital Management LLC now owns 161,252 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $11,602,000 after acquiring an additional 89,221 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its position in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 97.5% during the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 28,682 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,064,000 after acquiring an additional 14,162 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 131.0% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 16,181 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,164,000 after acquiring an additional 9,176 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.88% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on NKTR shares. B. Riley Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $150.00 target price (up from $105.00) on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. HC Wainwright increased their target price on shares of Nektar Therapeutics from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. William Blair upgraded shares of Nektar Therapeutics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, BTIG Research increased their target price on shares of Nektar Therapeutics from $151.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $149.63.

Nektar Therapeutics Company Profile

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) is a biopharmaceutical company dedicated to discovering and developing novel drug candidates through its proprietary chemistry and immunology platforms. The company focuses on polymer conjugate technology, which enables the creation of longer-acting versions of existing drugs, and on T-cell modulatory therapies aimed at harnessing the body’s immune system to treat cancer and other serious diseases.

Nektar’s product portfolio and pipeline include a range of clinical-stage and partnered programs.