Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) Receives "Buy" Rating from HC Wainwright

HC Wainwright reissued their buy rating on shares of Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR - Free Report) in a report issued on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $6.50 target price on the biopharmaceutical company's stock.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. B. Riley began coverage on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $4.00 target price on the stock. BTIG Research reissued a "buy" rating and set a $4.00 price objective on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler began coverage on Nektar Therapeutics in a report on Monday, November 4th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $7.00 target price on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $4.08.

Nektar Therapeutics Stock Down 6.7 %

NASDAQ:NKTR traded down $0.07 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $0.96. 1,801,890 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,026,199. Nektar Therapeutics has a one year low of $0.48 and a one year high of $1.93. The firm has a market cap of $177.32 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.14 and a beta of 0.59. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $1.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $1.21.

Insider Activity at Nektar Therapeutics

In related news, CEO Howard W. Robin sold 46,995 shares of Nektar Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.01, for a total value of $47,464.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,195,710 shares in the company, valued at $1,207,667.10. The trade was a 3.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Mark Andrew Wilson sold 33,402 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $0.90, for a total value of $30,061.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 351,892 shares in the company, valued at approximately $316,702.80. This represents a 8.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 155,575 shares of company stock valued at $149,878. 3.71% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NKTR. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in Nektar Therapeutics by 2,822.5% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 551,535 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $684,000 after acquiring an additional 532,663 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers raised its position in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 3,377.0% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 185,116 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $230,000 after purchasing an additional 179,792 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Nektar Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Samlyn Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics during the second quarter worth about $11,728,000. Finally, Armistice Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Nektar Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,037,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.88% of the company's stock.

Nektar Therapeutics Company Profile

Nektar Therapeutics, a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on discovering and developing medicines in the field of immunotherapy in the United States and internationally. The company is developing rezpegaldesleukin, a cytokine Treg stimulant that is in phase 2 clinical trial for the treatment of systemic lupus erythematosus and ulcerative colitis, as well as phase 2b clinical trial to treat atopic dermatitis and psoriasis; and NKTR-255, an IL-15 receptor agonist, which is in phase 1 clinical trial to boost the immune system's natural ability to fight cancer.