Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two investment 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. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $4.08.

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. B. Riley initiated coverage on Nektar Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $4.00 target price on the stock. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $6.50 price target on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research report on Monday. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $4.00 target price on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, November 4th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $7.00 price target on the stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Jonathan Zalevsky sold 51,115 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at approximately $307,289.76. This trade represents a 13.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Howard W. Robin sold 46,995 shares of Nektar Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.01, for a total value of $47,464.95. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,195,710 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,207,667.10. This represents a 3.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 155,575 shares of company stock valued at $149,878 over the last ninety days. 3.71% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nektar Therapeutics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 197.3% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 913,300 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,187,000 after buying an additional 606,057 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its position in Nektar Therapeutics by 96.1% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 358,294 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $466,000 after purchasing an additional 175,596 shares in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new stake in Nektar Therapeutics during the third quarter worth $46,000. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 50.0% in the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 91,470 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $119,000 after purchasing an additional 30,481 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new position in shares of Nektar Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter valued at $615,000. Institutional investors own 75.88% of the company’s stock.

Nektar Therapeutics Trading Down 6.7 %

Nektar Therapeutics stock opened at $0.96 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $1.07 and a 200 day simple moving average of $1.21. Nektar Therapeutics has a 1-year low of $0.48 and a 1-year high of $1.93. The company has a market cap of $177.32 million, a P/E ratio of -1.14 and a beta of 0.59.

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.