Wellington Management Group LLP Purchases New Stake in Nektar Therapeutics $NKTR

Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new position in Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 11,488 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $802,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AWM Investment Company Inc. acquired a new position in Nektar Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,461,000. Great Lakes Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Nektar Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter valued at about $206,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $6,706,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC grew its position in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 15.8% during the 2nd quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC now owns 5,500 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $383,000 after buying an additional 750 shares during the period. Finally, Gainplan LLC raised its stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 199.2% during the second quarter. Gainplan LLC now owns 14,962 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,044,000 after buying an additional 9,962 shares during the last quarter. 75.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Nektar Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of NKTR stock opened at $69.76 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $2.38 billion, a PE ratio of -10.41 and a beta of 1.14. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $72.24 and a 200-day moving average of $72.07. Nektar Therapeutics has a one year low of $33.40 and a one year high of $109.00.

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 13th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.23) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.97) by $0.74. The business had revenue of $10.13 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.43 million. Nektar Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 287.84% and a negative return on equity of 37.87%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Nektar Therapeutics will post -8.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nektar Therapeutics

In related news, CEO Howard W. Robin sold 418 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.98, for a total value of $30,087.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 54,627 shares in the company, valued at $3,932,051.46. This represents a 0.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Jonathan Zalevsky sold 5,681 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total value of $397,670.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 9,756 shares in the company, valued at $682,920. The trade was a 36.80% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 21,823 shares of company stock worth $1,380,558. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on NKTR shares. Canaccord Genuity Group began coverage on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $153.00 price objective on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Nektar Therapeutics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, May 17th. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $178.00 target price on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on Nektar Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, August 21st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $65.00 price target on the stock. Finally, TD Cowen raised Nektar Therapeutics to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $141.50.

About Nektar Therapeutics

Nektar Therapeutics is a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing medicines that harness the body’s immune system to treat cancer and autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. The company’s research is centered on cytokine biology, immune-cell regulation and its proprietary polymer-conjugation technologies, which are designed to modify therapeutic compounds and potentially improve their duration, delivery or tolerability.

Nektar’s pipeline has included investigational therapies such as rezpegaldesleukin, an immune-modulating treatment being studied for autoimmune and inflammatory conditions.