Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) Coverage Initiated at B. Riley

B. Riley assumed coverage on shares of Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage set a “buy” rating and a $4.00 price target on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock. B. Riley’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 236.13% from the stock’s previous close.

NKTR has been the topic of several other research reports. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and set a $4.00 price objective on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a report on Monday, September 30th. HC Wainwright began coverage on Nektar Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $6.50 target price for the company. Finally, Piper Sandler assumed coverage on Nektar Therapeutics in a report on Monday, November 4th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $7.00 price target on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $4.08.

Nektar Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:NKTR opened at $1.19 on Wednesday. Nektar Therapeutics has a one year low of $0.48 and a one year high of $1.93. The company has a market cap of $219.51 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.42 and a beta of 0.59. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $1.09 and a 200 day simple moving average of $1.21.

Insider Transactions at Nektar Therapeutics

In other news, insider Mark Andrew Wilson sold 33,402 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 351,892 shares in the company, valued at $316,702.80. This represents a 8.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Howard W. Robin sold 46,995 shares of Nektar Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.01, for a total transaction of $47,464.95. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,195,710 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,207,667.10. This represents a 3.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 155,575 shares of company stock worth $149,878 over the last ninety days. 3.71% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Nektar Therapeutics

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of NKTR. Victory Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Valence8 US LP acquired a new position in Nektar Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Nektar Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $41,000. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $46,000. Finally, Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $61,000. 75.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.