Ishara Investments LP Purchases Shares of 20,000 Nektar Therapeutics $NKTR

Ishara Investments LP purchased a new stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 20,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $846,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in NKTR. Janus Henderson Group PLC purchased a new position in Nektar Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth approximately $342,000. Engineers Gate Manager LP lifted its position in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 111.5% during the 4th quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 37,284 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,576,000 after buying an additional 19,654 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 46.4% during the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 282,021 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $11,924,000 after buying an additional 89,407 shares during the last quarter. BVF Inc. IL increased its stake in Nektar Therapeutics by 22.2% in the fourth quarter. BVF Inc. IL now owns 1,559,595 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $65,940,000 after purchasing an additional 283,000 shares during the period. Finally, Armistice Capital LLC increased its stake in Nektar Therapeutics by 122.4% in the fourth quarter. Armistice Capital LLC now owns 596,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $25,199,000 after purchasing an additional 328,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.88% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Wedbush lowered their price target on shares of Nektar Therapeutics from $95.00 to $80.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 11th. HC Wainwright increased their price objective on shares of Nektar Therapeutics from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. B. Riley Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price target (up from $105.00) on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $149.63.

Nektar Therapeutics Stock Performance

NASDAQ NKTR opened at $60.92 on Thursday. Nektar Therapeutics has a one year low of $8.27 and a one year high of $109.00. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $73.67 and its 200 day moving average price is $62.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.24 and a beta of 1.13.

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.82) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.58) by ($0.24). Nektar Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 284.18% and a negative return on equity of 85.40%. The business had revenue of $10.86 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.69 million. Sell-side analysts forecast that Nektar Therapeutics will post -9.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Howard W. Robin sold 444 shares of the firm’s 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 $29,086.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 75,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,916,197.95. This trade represents a 0.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Jonathan Zalevsky sold 5,538 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.71, for a total transaction of $336,211.98. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 15,437 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $937,180.27. The trade was a 26.40% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 6,181 shares of company stock worth $378,335 in the last quarter. Insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

About Nektar Therapeutics

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.