55,895 Nektar Therapeutics $NKTR Shares Bought by Iridian Asset Management LLC CT

Iridian Asset Management LLC CT increased its holdings in shares of Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) by 144.1% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 94,697 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 55,895 shares during the quarter. Nektar Therapeutics makes up approximately 2.0% of Iridian Asset Management LLC CT’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. Iridian Asset Management LLC CT’s holdings in Nektar Therapeutics were worth $5,733,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of NKTR. Two Seas Capital LP boosted its position in Nektar Therapeutics by 8.2% in the third quarter. Two Seas Capital LP now owns 3,345,978 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $202,582,000 after purchasing an additional 253,744 shares during the last quarter. Braidwell LP increased its position in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 112.7% during the 2nd quarter. Braidwell LP now owns 473,617 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $33,063,000 after purchasing an additional 250,916 shares during the last quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC increased its position in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC now owns 394,604 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $28,392,000 after purchasing an additional 10,262 shares during the last quarter. Orbimed Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics during the 1st quarter worth $19,786,000. Finally, Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust raised its stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust now owns 256,106 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $18,427,000 after purchasing an additional 2,981 shares during the period. 75.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NKTR has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a report on Friday, August 28th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 price objective on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a report on Friday, October 2nd. Leerink Partners initiated coverage on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a report on Monday, October 12th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $130.00 price objective for the company. Canaccord Genuity Group began coverage on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $153.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wedbush dropped their target price on shares of Nektar Therapeutics from $80.00 to $50.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Nektar Therapeutics has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $130.67.

Nektar Therapeutics Price Performance

NASDAQ:NKTR opened at $37.22 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.27 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.56 and a beta of 1.26. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $59.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $67.48. Nektar Therapeutics has a 1 year low of $33.40 and a 1 year high of $109.00.

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.23) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.97) by $0.74. The firm had revenue of $10.13 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.43 million. Nektar Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 37.87% and a negative net margin of 287.84%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Nektar Therapeutics will post -8.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Nektar Therapeutics

In related news, CEO Howard Robin sold 418 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.98, for a total value of $30,087.64. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 54,627 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,932,051.46. The trade was a 0.76% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

About Nektar Therapeutics

Nektar Therapeutics is a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing medicines for autoimmune, inflammatory and other serious diseases. The company uses its proprietary biologics and polymer-conjugation technologies to design therapies intended to improve immune-system regulation, drug activity and dosing convenience.

Nektar’s pipeline includes rezpegaldesleukin, an investigational treatment designed to expand regulatory T cells and potentially restore immune tolerance in conditions such as atopic dermatitis, alopecia areata and other autoimmune diseases.