Nektar Therapeutics’ (NKTR) “Market Perform” Rating Reiterated at William Blair

William Blair reaffirmed their market perform rating on shares of Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) in a research report report published on Tuesday,RTT News reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a report on Monday, November 4th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $7.00 target price on the stock. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $6.50 price objective on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, B. Riley initiated 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 given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Nektar Therapeutics presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $4.08.

Nektar Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:NKTR opened at $0.80 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $0.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $1.11. Nektar Therapeutics has a fifty-two week low of $0.65 and a fifty-two week high of $1.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $146.87 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.95 and a beta of 0.58.

Insider Activity at Nektar Therapeutics

In other news, insider Jonathan Zalevsky sold 51,115 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 19th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $307,289.76. This represents a 13.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Howard W. Robin sold 46,995 shares of Nektar Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.01, for a total value of $47,464.95. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,195,710 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,207,667.10. The trade was a 3.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 165,586 shares of company stock valued at $159,990 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 3.71% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Eventide Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 worth $12,220,000 after buying an additional 1,870,904 shares during the last quarter. Nantahala Capital Management LLC grew 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 worth $7,263,000 after acquiring an additional 3,700,000 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP raised its position in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 187.3% during the 4th quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 4,974,512 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $4,626,000 after acquiring an additional 3,242,841 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 17.5% in the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 3,910,786 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,637,000 after purchasing an additional 583,153 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp boosted 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 currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.