Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) Stake Reduced by Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc.

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. trimmed its stake in Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) by 6.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 2,626,961 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 166,243 shares during the quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. owned approximately 1.42% of Nektar Therapeutics worth $2,443,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Nantahala Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Nektar Therapeutics by 90.0% in the 4th quarter. Nantahala Capital Management LLC now owns 7,810,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $7,263,000 after purchasing an additional 3,700,000 shares during the last quarter. Altium Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 26,172.0% in the fourth quarter. Altium Capital Management LLC now owns 3,000,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,790,000 after purchasing an additional 2,988,581 shares during the period. 22NW LP bought a new stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,038,000. Peapod Lane Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,030,000. Finally, Diadema Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of Nektar Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $650,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.88% of the company’s stock.

Nektar Therapeutics Stock Performance

Nektar Therapeutics stock opened at $0.68 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $126.55 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.81 and a beta of 0.62. Nektar Therapeutics has a 1 year low of $0.43 and a 1 year high of $1.83. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $0.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $0.89.

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.22) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.18) by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $10.46 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.61 million. Nektar Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 173.28% and a negative net margin of 180.70%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.18) earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Nektar Therapeutics will post -0.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Nektar Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $1.00 to $2.00 in a research report on Friday, April 11th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Nektar Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $6.50 price target on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. William Blair reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a report on Monday. Finally, Oppenheimer raised Nektar Therapeutics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $6.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, March 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Nektar Therapeutics has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $4.50.

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.