The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Invests $86,000 in Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new stake in Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 66,218 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $86,000.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in Nektar Therapeutics by 2,822.5% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 551,535 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $684,000 after acquiring an additional 532,663 shares during the last quarter. Nantahala Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 66.0% during the second quarter. Nantahala Capital Management LLC now owns 4,110,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $5,096,000 after purchasing an additional 1,634,046 shares in the last quarter. Samlyn Capital LLC purchased a new position in Nektar Therapeutics during the second quarter worth about $11,728,000. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in Nektar Therapeutics by 56.1% during 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. Finally, Armistice Capital LLC bought a new stake in Nektar Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,037,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.88% of the company’s stock.

Nektar Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of NKTR opened at $1.00 on Tuesday. Nektar Therapeutics has a 1-year low of $0.46 and a 1-year high of $1.93. The company has a market capitalization of $184.46 million, a P/E ratio of -1.19 and a beta of 0.57. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $1.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1.24.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on NKTR shares. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and issued a $4.00 price objective on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Nektar Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, November 4th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $7.00 target price for the company. Finally, HC Wainwright started coverage on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $6.50 price target for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $4.10.

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.