Oppenheimer Upgrades Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) to Outperform

Oppenheimer upgraded shares of Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) from a market perform rating to an outperform rating in a research note released on Friday morning, Marketbeat reports. They currently have $6.00 target price on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock.

Several other analysts also recently commented on the stock. William Blair reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a report on Thursday. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $6.50 price objective on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday. Finally, B. Riley began coverage on Nektar Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $4.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $4.92.

Nektar Therapeutics Stock Up 10.0 %

NKTR opened at $0.90 on Friday. Nektar Therapeutics has a 12-month low of $0.65 and a 12-month high of $1.93. The business has a 50 day moving average of $0.88 and a 200-day moving average of $1.08. The stock has a market cap of $165.42 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.07 and a beta of 0.65.

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 12th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.18) by $0.33. Nektar Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 173.28% and a negative net margin of 180.70%. The business had revenue of $29.18 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.65 million. As a group, analysts expect that Nektar Therapeutics will post -0.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Nektar Therapeutics news, insider Jonathan Zalevsky sold 51,115 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $0.94, for a total transaction of $48,048.10. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 326,904 shares in the company, valued at $307,289.76. This represents a 13.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Howard W. Robin sold 46,995 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.01, for a total transaction of $47,464.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,195,710 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 have sold a total of 165,586 shares of company stock worth $159,990 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 3.71% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nektar Therapeutics

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of NKTR. Eventide Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 24.8% during the 3rd 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 lifted its holdings in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 90.0% in the fourth 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 last quarter. Woodline Partners LP boosted its stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 187.3% in the 4th quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 4,974,512 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $4,626,000 after purchasing an additional 3,242,841 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 17.5% during 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 last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp increased its position in Nektar Therapeutics by 11.9% during 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.