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

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) was upgraded by analysts at B. Riley to a “strong-buy” rating in a report issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $4.00 price target on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Piper Sandler began coverage on Nektar Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, November 4th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $7.00 price target for the company. Finally, HC Wainwright initiated coverage on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $6.50 price objective on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Nektar Therapeutics presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $4.08.

Nektar Therapeutics Stock Down 4.2 %

NKTR opened at $1.14 on Tuesday. Nektar Therapeutics has a 52 week low of $0.48 and a 52 week high of $1.93. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $1.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $1.21. The company has a market capitalization of $210.28 million, a PE ratio of -1.36 and a beta of 0.59.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Nektar Therapeutics news, 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 directly owns 351,892 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $316,702.80. This trade represents a 8.67 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Jonathan Zalevsky sold 51,115 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 326,904 shares in the company, valued at $307,289.76. This trade represents a 13.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 155,575 shares of company stock valued at $149,878. Insiders own 3.71% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NKTR. Victory Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Nektar Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Valence8 US LP acquired a new position in Nektar Therapeutics during the third quarter worth $34,000. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Nektar Therapeutics during the third quarter valued at $41,000. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at about $46,000. Finally, Erste Asset Management GmbH purchased a new position in Nektar Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter valued at about $61,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.88% of the company’s stock.

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.