Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) Trading Up 5.4% – Still a Buy?

Posted by Francis Steltz on Sep 24th, 2026

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR – Get Free Report)’s stock price rose 5.4% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $58.53 and last traded at $60.75. 633,702 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 38% from the average daily volume of 1,024,084 shares. The stock had previously closed at $57.66.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Canaccord Genuity Group began coverage on Nektar Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $153.00 price objective on the stock. Wedbush dropped their target price on shares of Nektar Therapeutics from $80.00 to $50.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a report on Friday, August 21st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $65.00 price target for the company. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Nektar Therapeutics to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 24th. Finally, BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $178.00 target price on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, September 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Nektar Therapeutics currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $138.50.

View Our Latest Stock Analysis on NKTR

Nektar Therapeutics Price Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $71.37 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $71.85. The company has a market cap of $2.04 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.90 and a beta of 1.14.

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.23) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.97) by $0.74. The company had revenue of $10.13 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.43 million. Nektar Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 37.87% and a negative net margin of 287.84%. As a group, analysts forecast that Nektar Therapeutics will post -8.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Jonathan Zalevsky sold 5,681 shares of Nektar Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total transaction of $397,670.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 9,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $682,920. The trade was a 36.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Howard Robin sold 418 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 54,627 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,932,051.46. This trade represents a 0.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold 6,285 shares of company stock valued at $441,146 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. KBC Group NV acquired a new stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics during the 1st quarter valued at $52,000. State of Wyoming acquired a new stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics during the first quarter worth $67,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics during the first quarter valued at $209,000. Great Lakes Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Nektar Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter valued at $206,000. Finally, Pale Fire Capital SE acquired a new position in shares of Nektar Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter valued at $234,000. Institutional investors own 75.88% of the company’s stock.

Nektar Therapeutics Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Nektar Therapeutics is a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing medicines that harness the body’s immune system to treat cancer and autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. The company’s research is centered on cytokine biology, immune-cell regulation and its proprietary polymer-conjugation technologies, which are designed to modify therapeutic compounds and potentially improve their duration, delivery or tolerability.

Nektar’s pipeline has included investigational therapies such as rezpegaldesleukin, an immune-modulating treatment being studied for autoimmune and inflammatory conditions.