Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) Sets New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Saturday . The stock traded as high as $63.92 and last traded at $57.77, with a volume of 2289134 shares. The stock had previously closed at $54.96.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on NKTR. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 price target on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, September 19th. B. Riley boosted their target price on shares of Nektar Therapeutics from $85.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 23rd. HC Wainwright boosted their target price on shares of Nektar Therapeutics to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Six equities 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $91.67.

Nektar Therapeutics Trading Up 5.1%

The company’s 50 day moving average price is $44.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $25.18. The company has a market capitalization of $1.10 billion, a PE ratio of -6.57 and a beta of 1.18.

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($2.95) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($3.13) by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $11.18 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.42 million. Nektar Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 163.17% and a negative return on equity of 631.43%. As a group, analysts predict that Nektar Therapeutics will post -0.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Nektar Therapeutics news, CEO Howard W. Robin sold 6,666 shares of Nektar Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 49,342 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,303,777.98. The trade was a 11.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jonathan Zalevsky sold 1,721 shares of Nektar Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 17,462 shares in the company, valued at approximately $585,326.24. This trade represents a 8.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 25,178 shares of company stock worth $938,776. 5.25% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. FNY Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Nektar Therapeutics during the second quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics during the second quarter valued at approximately $65,000. IFP Advisors Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics during the second quarter valued at approximately $124,000. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics during the second quarter valued at approximately $367,000. Finally, Gainplan LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics during the second quarter valued at approximately $388,000. 75.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.