Ishara Investments LP Buys Shares of 20,000 Nektar Therapeutics $NKTR

Ishara Investments LP bought a new stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 20,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $846,000. Ishara Investments LP owned 0.10% of Nektar Therapeutics at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in Nektar Therapeutics by 93.8% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 434 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Compass Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Nektar Therapeutics during the third quarter valued at about $88,000. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Nektar Therapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at about $85,000. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Nektar Therapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at about $92,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of Nektar Therapeutics during the second quarter valued at about $65,000. 75.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on NKTR. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $140.00 price objective on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a report on Friday, March 13th. Wedbush dropped their target price on shares of Nektar Therapeutics from $95.00 to $80.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 11th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, B. Riley Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price target (up from $105.00) on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $149.63.

Nektar Therapeutics Trading Up 1.1%

NKTR stock opened at $60.92 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $2.06 billion, a PE ratio of -7.24 and a beta of 1.13. Nektar Therapeutics has a 12 month low of $8.27 and a 12 month high of $109.00. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $73.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $62.18.

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.82) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.58) by ($0.24). The business had revenue of $10.86 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.69 million. Nektar Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 85.40% and a negative net margin of 284.18%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Nektar Therapeutics will post -9.45 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jonathan Zalevsky sold 5,538 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.71, for a total transaction of $336,211.98. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 15,437 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $937,180.27. This represents a 26.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Howard W. Robin sold 444 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.51, for a total transaction of $29,086.44. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 75,045 shares in the company, valued at $4,916,197.95. This trade represents a 0.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold a total of 6,181 shares of company stock worth $378,335 in the last 90 days. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Nektar Therapeutics Profile

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) is a biopharmaceutical company dedicated to discovering and developing novel drug candidates through its proprietary chemistry and immunology platforms. The company focuses on polymer conjugate technology, which enables the creation of longer-acting versions of existing drugs, and on T-cell modulatory therapies aimed at harnessing the body’s immune system to treat cancer and other serious diseases.

Nektar’s product portfolio and pipeline include a range of clinical-stage and partnered programs.