Insider Selling: Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) Insider Sells 199 Shares of Stock

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) insider Jonathan Zalevsky sold 199 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.51, for a total transaction of $13,036.49. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 20,975 shares in the company, valued at $1,374,072.25. This represents a 0.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.

Nektar Therapeutics Stock Performance

Nektar Therapeutics stock traded down $0.91 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $68.58. 584,846 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,093,003. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.32 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.14 and a beta of 1.24. Nektar Therapeutics has a 12 month low of $7.99 and a 12 month high of $109.00. The business’s 50-day moving average is $78.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $61.75.

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $10.86 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.69 million. Nektar Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 85.40% and a negative net margin of 284.18%. On average, equities analysts predict that Nektar Therapeutics will post -9.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nektar Therapeutics

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of NKTR. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Nektar Therapeutics by 336.9% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,640,851 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,463,000 after buying an additional 2,807,595 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new position in Nektar Therapeutics in the first quarter valued at approximately $68,000. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its holdings in Nektar Therapeutics by 23.3% in the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 221,761 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $151,000 after buying an additional 41,948 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new position in Nektar Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at approximately $367,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Nektar Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at approximately $65,000. 75.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on NKTR shares. BTIG Research upped their price objective on shares of Nektar Therapeutics from $151.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. HC Wainwright increased their price target on shares of Nektar Therapeutics from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Nektar Therapeutics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday. William Blair raised shares of Nektar Therapeutics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Nektar Therapeutics from $123.00 to $151.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Nektar Therapeutics has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $149.63.

About Nektar Therapeutics

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.