Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) Now Covered by Piper Sandler

Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR - Free Report) in a research note released on Monday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm issued an overweight rating and a $7.00 price objective on the biopharmaceutical company's stock.

Separately, BTIG Research reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $4.00 target price on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, September 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $3.50.

Nektar Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of NKTR stock traded up $0.10 on Monday, hitting $1.33. 5,968,085 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,749,976. Nektar Therapeutics has a 1-year low of $0.41 and a 1-year high of $1.93. The company's fifty day moving average is $1.28 and its 200 day moving average is $1.34. The company has a market capitalization of $244.83 million, a PE ratio of -1.48 and a beta of 0.61.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nektar Therapeutics

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 30.4% in the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 95,637 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $124,000 after purchasing an additional 22,285 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Values First Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Nektar Therapeutics during the second quarter worth $56,000. Marquette Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Nektar Therapeutics by 24.8% during the 1st quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 232,289 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $217,000 after purchasing an additional 46,126 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System bought a new stake in Nektar Therapeutics in the 1st quarter valued at $63,000. 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.