Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) have been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the six research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have given a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $2.33.

Several brokerages have weighed in on NKTR. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $4.00 price target on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a report on Monday, September 30th. Rodman & Renshaw began coverage on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a report on Friday, June 28th. They set a “buy” rating and a $2.00 price target on the stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nektar Therapeutics

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 30.4% during the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 95,637 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $124,000 after buying an additional 22,285 shares during the last quarter. Nantahala Capital Management LLC increased its position in Nektar Therapeutics by 66.0% in the second quarter. Nantahala Capital Management LLC now owns 4,110,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $5,096,000 after purchasing an additional 1,634,046 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in Nektar Therapeutics by 56.1% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 4,659,469 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $5,778,000 after purchasing an additional 1,674,924 shares during the last quarter. Armistice Capital LLC bought a new stake in Nektar Therapeutics in the second quarter worth $1,037,000. Finally, Samlyn Capital LLC bought a new stake in Nektar Therapeutics in the second quarter worth $11,728,000. Institutional investors own 75.88% of the company’s stock.

Nektar Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:NKTR opened at $1.32 on Friday. Nektar Therapeutics has a 1-year low of $0.41 and a 1-year high of $1.93. The company has a market capitalization of $242.91 million, a P/E ratio of -1.43 and a beta of 0.60. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $1.24 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $1.31.

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.25) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.21) by ($0.04). Nektar Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 190.09% and a negative return on equity of 133.64%. The firm had revenue of $23.49 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.24 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.27) EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Nektar Therapeutics will post -0.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.