Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) Stock Rating Reaffirmed as Buy by BTIG Research

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reiterated by investment analysts at BTIG Research in a note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $178.00 target price on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock. BTIG Research’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 333.35% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on NKTR. Raymond James Financial started coverage on Nektar Therapeutics in a research report on Friday. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. TD Cowen raised Nektar Therapeutics to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 24th. Wedbush decreased their target price on Nektar Therapeutics from $80.00 to $50.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Canaccord Genuity Group started coverage on Nektar Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $153.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a report on Friday, August 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $138.50.

Nektar Therapeutics Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:NKTR traded up $0.28 during trading on Friday, hitting $41.08. 464,921 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,100,609. Nektar Therapeutics has a 52 week low of $33.40 and a 52 week high of $109.00. The company has a market cap of $1.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.13 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $67.13 and a 200-day moving average price of $70.12.

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, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.97) by $0.74. Nektar Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 37.87% and a negative net margin of 287.84%.The business had revenue of $10.13 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.43 million. On average, analysts predict that Nektar Therapeutics will post -8.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Nektar Therapeutics news, CEO Howard Robin sold 418 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.98, for a total value of $30,087.64. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 54,627 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,932,051.46. This represents a 0.76% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. KBC Group NV bought a new stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics during the 1st quarter worth $52,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC lifted 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 last quarter. State of Wyoming bought a new stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics during the 1st quarter worth $67,000. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 27.3% during the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 8,477 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $592,000 after buying an additional 1,816 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 32.5% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 10,729 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $771,000 after buying an additional 2,629 shares during the last quarter. 75.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Nektar Therapeutics

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.