Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) Now Covered by Raymond James Financial

Raymond James Financial started coverage on shares of Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) in a research note issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm set a “market perform” rating on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on NKTR. TD Cowen raised Nektar Therapeutics to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 24th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a report on Friday, August 28th. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $178.00 price target on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, September 25th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $185.00 price target on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on Nektar Therapeutics in a report on Friday, August 21st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $65.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $138.50.

Nektar Therapeutics Price Performance

Nektar Therapeutics stock opened at $40.80 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $67.13 and a 200-day moving average of $70.12. The company has a market capitalization of $1.39 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.09 and a beta of 1.26. Nektar Therapeutics has a 1 year low of $33.40 and a 1 year high of $109.00.

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.23) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.97) by $0.74. Nektar Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 37.87% and a negative net margin of 287.84%.The business had revenue of $10.13 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.43 million. Equities analysts anticipate that Nektar Therapeutics will post -8.16 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Howard Robin sold 418 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.98, for a total value of $30,087.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 54,627 shares in the company, valued at $3,932,051.46. This represents a 0.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nektar Therapeutics

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Two Seas Capital LP grew its holdings in Nektar Therapeutics by 8.2% during the third quarter. Two Seas Capital LP now owns 3,345,978 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $202,582,000 after purchasing an additional 253,744 shares during the period. WINTON GROUP Ltd lifted its position in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 53.2% during the 2nd quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 25,900 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,808,000 after buying an additional 8,990 shares during the last quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP lifted its position in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 55.9% during the 2nd quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 19,183 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,339,000 after buying an additional 6,881 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 27.3% during the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 8,477 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $592,000 after acquiring an additional 1,816 shares during the period. Finally, Readystate Asset Management LP bought a new position in shares of Nektar Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter worth $5,942,000. Institutional investors own 75.88% of the company’s stock.

About Nektar Therapeutics

Nektar Therapeutics is a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing medicines that use the body’s immune system to treat cancer and autoimmune diseases. The company’s research programs are based on proprietary drug-design and immunology technologies intended to improve the activity, targeting, or dosing of therapeutic agents.

Nektar’s pipeline has included NKTR-255, an investigational interleukin-15 receptor agonist designed to activate natural killer cells and support antitumor immune responses.