Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) Rating Increased to Outperform at Oppenheimer

Oppenheimer upgraded shares of Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) from a market perform rating to an outperform rating in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Oppenheimer currently has $6.00 price objective on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock.

NKTR has been the subject of a number of other research reports. B. Riley initiated coverage on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $4.00 target price for the company. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $6.50 price target on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday. Finally, William Blair reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $4.92.

Nektar Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ NKTR opened at $0.90 on Friday. Nektar Therapeutics has a fifty-two week low of $0.65 and a fifty-two week high of $1.93. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $0.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $1.08. The company has a market capitalization of $165.42 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.07 and a beta of 0.65.

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, March 12th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.18) by $0.33. Nektar Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 180.70% and a negative return on equity of 173.28%. The business had revenue of $29.18 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.65 million. On average, analysts forecast that Nektar Therapeutics will post -0.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Nektar Therapeutics news, CEO Howard W. Robin sold 46,995 shares of Nektar Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.01, for a total value of $47,464.95. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,195,710 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,207,667.10. The trade was a 3.78 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Mark Andrew Wilson sold 33,402 shares of Nektar Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $0.90, for a total transaction of $30,061.80. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 351,892 shares in the company, valued at $316,702.80. This represents a 8.67 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 165,586 shares of company stock valued at $159,990. Company insiders own 3.71% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 801.4% during the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 469,769 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $437,000 after acquiring an additional 417,651 shares during the last quarter. US Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Nektar Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Woodline Partners LP boosted its stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 187.3% during the 4th quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 4,974,512 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $4,626,000 after acquiring an additional 3,242,841 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new position in shares of Nektar Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth $130,000. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 12.8% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 1,537,355 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,430,000 after acquiring an additional 174,185 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.88% of the company’s stock.

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.