HC Wainwright Reiterates Buy Rating for Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR)

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

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on NKTR. Piper Sandler began coverage on Nektar Therapeutics in a report on Monday, November 4th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $7.00 price objective for the company. B. Riley started coverage on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $4.00 target price for the company. Two equities 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $4.08.

Nektar Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:NKTR traded up $0.05 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $0.84. 1,159,686 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,373,292. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $0.90 and a 200-day moving average price of $1.11. The company has a market cap of $155.50 million, a PE ratio of -1.00 and a beta of 0.58. Nektar Therapeutics has a 12 month low of $0.65 and a 12 month high of $1.93.

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Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Howard W. Robin sold 46,995 shares of Nektar Therapeutics stock in a transaction 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 sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Jonathan Zalevsky sold 51,115 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $0.94, for a total transaction of $48,048.10. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 326,904 shares in the company, valued at $307,289.76. This represents a 13.52 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 165,586 shares of company stock valued at $159,990. 3.71% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Nektar Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Eventide Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 24.8% in the 3rd quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC now owns 9,400,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $12,220,000 after buying an additional 1,870,904 shares during the last quarter. Nantahala Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Nektar Therapeutics by 90.0% in the fourth quarter. Nantahala Capital Management LLC now owns 7,810,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $7,263,000 after acquiring an additional 3,700,000 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP grew its stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 187.3% in the fourth quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 4,974,512 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $4,626,000 after acquiring an additional 3,242,841 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 17.5% during the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 3,910,786 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $3,637,000 after acquiring an additional 583,153 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 11.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,345,733 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $4,349,000 after purchasing an additional 355,759 shares during the last quarter. 75.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Nektar Therapeutics

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.