Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" from Brokerages

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR - Get Free Report) has received an average recommendation of "Hold" from the six analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have issued a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $2.33.

Separately, BTIG Research reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $4.00 price target on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, September 30th.

Nektar Therapeutics Price Performance

Nektar Therapeutics stock traded down $0.06 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $1.19. 1,187,768 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,734,288. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $1.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $1.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $219.05 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.32 and a beta of 0.60. Nektar Therapeutics has a 1 year low of $0.41 and a 1 year high of $1.93.

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.25) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.21) by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $23.49 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $17.24 million. Nektar Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 190.09% and a negative return on equity of 133.64%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.27) EPS. Research analysts forecast that Nektar Therapeutics will post -0.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Nektar Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of NKTR. Samlyn Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics in the second quarter worth about $11,728,000. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 56.1% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 4,659,469 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $5,778,000 after buying an additional 1,674,924 shares during the last quarter. Nantahala Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Nektar Therapeutics by 66.0% in the 2nd quarter. Nantahala Capital Management LLC now owns 4,110,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $5,096,000 after purchasing an additional 1,634,046 shares during the period. Armistice Capital LLC acquired a new position in Nektar Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,037,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Nektar Therapeutics by 2,822.5% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 551,535 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $684,000 after purchasing an additional 532,663 shares during the period. 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.