100,000 Shares in Nektar Therapeutics $NKTR Acquired by ING Groep NV

ING Groep NV bought a new position in shares of Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 100,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,228,000.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 93.8% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 434 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Compass Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Nektar Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $88,000. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 1,741.2% during the 3rd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,565 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $90,000 after acquiring an additional 1,480 shares during the last quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Nektar Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at $92,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in Nektar Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter valued at $65,000. 75.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on NKTR. William Blair upgraded Nektar Therapeutics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. B. Riley Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $150.00 price target (up from $105.00) on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. HC Wainwright boosted their price target on Nektar Therapeutics from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Nektar Therapeutics from $105.00 to $192.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $149.63.

Nektar Therapeutics Price Performance

NKTR opened at $56.62 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.91 billion, a PE ratio of -6.72 and a beta of 1.13. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $75.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $62.22. Nektar Therapeutics has a 1 year low of $7.99 and a 1 year high of $109.00.

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $10.86 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.69 million. Nektar Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 284.18% and a negative return on equity of 85.40%. Equities analysts anticipate that Nektar Therapeutics will post -9.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Nektar Therapeutics news, CEO Howard W. Robin sold 444 shares of Nektar Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.51, for a total value of $29,086.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 75,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,916,197.95. The trade was a 0.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. 2.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.