Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) Stock Has Consensus Price Target of $130.67

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have issued a hold recommendation, ten have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $130.67.

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on NKTR shares. Canaccord Genuity Group started coverage on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $153.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a report on Friday, August 21st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $65.00 price objective for the company. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $178.00 target price on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, October 9th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, October 12th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $53.00 target price for the company. Finally, HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 price target on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, October 2nd.

Nektar Therapeutics Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of Nektar Therapeutics stock opened at $38.55 on Monday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $57.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $64.51. Nektar Therapeutics has a 12 month low of $33.40 and a 12 month high of $109.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.32 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.75 and a beta of 1.26.

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 13th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.23) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.97) by $0.74. The firm had revenue of $10.13 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.43 million. Nektar Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 37.87% and a negative net margin of 287.84%. Analysts predict that Nektar Therapeutics will post -8.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Nektar Therapeutics news, CEO Howard Robin sold 418 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.98, for a total transaction of $30,087.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 54,627 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,932,051.46. This represents a 0.76% 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. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Nektar Therapeutics

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. KBC Group NV purchased a new position in shares of Nektar Therapeutics during the 1st quarter valued at $52,000. State of Wyoming bought a new position in shares of Nektar Therapeutics during the 1st quarter worth $67,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Nektar Therapeutics by 507.2% in the 3rd quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,099 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $67,000 after acquiring an additional 918 shares during the period. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Nektar Therapeutics by 35.0% in the 3rd quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,160 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $128,000 after acquiring an additional 560 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new stake in Nektar Therapeutics in the 1st quarter valued at about $209,000. 75.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Nektar Therapeutics

Nektar Therapeutics is a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing medicines for autoimmune, inflammatory and other serious diseases. The company uses its proprietary biologics and polymer-conjugation technologies to design therapies intended to improve immune-system regulation, drug activity and dosing convenience.

Nektar’s pipeline includes rezpegaldesleukin, an investigational treatment designed to expand regulatory T cells and potentially restore immune tolerance in conditions such as atopic dermatitis, alopecia areata and other autoimmune diseases.