Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) Given Buy Rating at HC Wainwright

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy" rating restated by HC Wainwright in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $6.50 price target on the biopharmaceutical company's stock.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on NKTR. B. Riley initiated coverage on Nektar Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $4.00 price objective on the stock. William Blair reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $4.70.

Nektar Therapeutics Stock Up 0.1 %

NKTR stock opened at $0.82 on Thursday. The business's 50-day moving average price is $0.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $1.08. The stock has a market cap of $151.26 million, a P/E ratio of -0.98 and a beta of 0.65. Nektar Therapeutics has a twelve month low of $0.65 and a twelve month high of $1.93.

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 17th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.18) by $0.33. Nektar Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 180.70% and a negative return on equity of 173.28%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Nektar Therapeutics will post -0.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Mark Andrew Wilson sold 33,402 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $0.90, for a total transaction of $30,061.80. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 351,892 shares of the company's stock, valued at $316,702.80. This represents a 8.67 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Jonathan Zalevsky sold 51,115 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $0.94, for a total transaction of $48,048.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 326,904 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $307,289.76. This trade represents a 13.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 165,586 shares of company stock worth $159,990. Corporate insiders own 3.71% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NKTR. Eventide Asset Management LLC raised its position in Nektar Therapeutics by 24.8% during the third quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC now owns 9,400,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $12,220,000 after purchasing an additional 1,870,904 shares during the period. Nantahala Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Nektar Therapeutics by 90.0% during the 4th quarter. Nantahala Capital Management LLC now owns 7,810,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $7,263,000 after buying an additional 3,700,000 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP lifted its position in 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 buying an additional 3,242,841 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its stake in Nektar Therapeutics by 17.5% during the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 3,910,786 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $3,637,000 after buying an additional 583,153 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp increased its position in Nektar Therapeutics by 11.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,345,733 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $4,349,000 after acquiring an additional 355,759 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.88% of the company's stock.

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.

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