B. Riley Upgrades Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) to Strong-Buy

B. Riley upgraded shares of Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR - Free Report) to a strong-buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

NKTR has been the topic of a number of other research reports. BTIG Research reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $4.00 target price on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Nektar Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, November 4th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $7.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, HC Wainwright began coverage on Nektar Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $6.50 price objective for the company. Three 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, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $4.08.

Nektar Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ NKTR traded down $0.05 on Tuesday, hitting $1.14. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,843,848 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,146,048. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $1.09 and a 200-day moving average of $1.21. The company has a market capitalization of $210.28 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.36 and a beta of 0.59. Nektar Therapeutics has a 12-month low of $0.48 and a 12-month high of $1.93.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Jonathan Zalevsky sold 51,115 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now owns 326,904 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $307,289.76. This represents a 13.52 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Mark Andrew Wilson sold 33,402 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $0.90, for a total transaction of $30,061.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 351,892 shares in the company, valued at $316,702.80. The trade was a 8.67 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 155,575 shares of company stock valued at $149,878 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 3.71% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nektar Therapeutics

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in NKTR. Victory Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Nektar Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Valence8 US LP purchased a new position in Nektar Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at about $34,000. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Nektar Therapeutics during the third quarter worth about $41,000. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics in the third quarter worth about $46,000. Finally, Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at about $61,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.