HC Wainwright Issues Optimistic Outlook for NKTR Earnings

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) – Analysts at HC Wainwright boosted their Q4 2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, November 11th. HC Wainwright analyst A. He now expects that the biopharmaceutical company will post earnings per share of ($1.98) for the quarter, up from their prior forecast of ($2.16). The consensus estimate for Nektar Therapeutics’ current full-year earnings is ($0.72) per share. HC Wainwright also issued estimates for Nektar Therapeutics’ Q1 2026 earnings at ($2.05) EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at ($2.30) EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at ($2.19) EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at ($2.25) EPS and FY2026 earnings at ($8.80) EPS.

NKTR has been the subject of several other reports. B. Riley boosted their target price on Nektar Therapeutics from $85.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 23rd. Wall Street Zen raised Nektar Therapeutics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 8th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $100.00 target price on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a report on Friday, September 19th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.00.

Nektar Therapeutics Stock Down 6.5%

Shares of NKTR opened at $53.95 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $1.10 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.13 and a beta of 1.19. Nektar Therapeutics has a fifty-two week low of $6.45 and a fifty-two week high of $66.92. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $56.54 and its 200 day moving average price is $31.94.

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.85) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($2.85) by $1.00. The company had revenue of $11.79 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.20 million. Nektar Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 163.17% and a negative return on equity of 631.43%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Howard W. Robin sold 6,666 shares of Nektar Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.69, for a total transaction of $311,235.54. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 49,342 shares in the company, valued at $2,303,777.98. This trade represents a 11.90% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Jonathan Zalevsky sold 1,721 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.52, for a total transaction of $57,687.92. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 17,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $585,326.24. This trade represents a 8.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 25,178 shares of company stock worth $938,776. 5.25% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Nektar Therapeutics

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in NKTR. Cerity Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics in the 1st quarter valued at about $52,000. CWM LLC lifted its stake in Nektar Therapeutics by 4,544.5% in the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 105,524 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $72,000 after buying an additional 103,252 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 253.1% in the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 1,658,745 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,128,000 after acquiring an additional 1,188,976 shares during the period. Deuterium Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Nektar Therapeutics during the first quarter worth approximately $381,000. Finally, US Bancorp DE increased its holdings in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 257.8% in the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 50,085 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 36,085 shares during the period. 75.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.