StockNews.com Begins Coverage on Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR)

Investment analysts at StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) in a report released on Wednesday. The firm set a “hold” rating on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $6.50 price target on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, March 13th. William Blair reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Oppenheimer upgraded shares of Nektar Therapeutics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $6.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, March 14th. B. Riley assumed coverage on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $4.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Nektar Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $1.00 to $2.00 in a report on Friday, April 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $4.50.

Nektar Therapeutics Stock Up 5.6 %

Nektar Therapeutics stock opened at $0.64 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $118.68 million, a PE ratio of -0.76 and a beta of 0.69. Nektar Therapeutics has a 12-month low of $0.43 and a 12-month high of $1.93. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $0.77 and its 200 day moving average is $0.99.

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

Institutional Trading of Nektar Therapeutics

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nantahala Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 90.0% during the fourth quarter. Nantahala Capital Management LLC now owns 7,810,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $7,263,000 after acquiring an additional 3,700,000 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP increased its position 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 valued at $4,626,000 after purchasing an additional 3,242,841 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 17.5% during the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 3,910,786 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,637,000 after purchasing an additional 583,153 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 11.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,345,733 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $4,349,000 after buying an additional 355,759 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Altium Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Nektar Therapeutics by 26,172.0% in the fourth quarter. Altium Capital Management LLC now owns 3,000,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,790,000 after acquiring an additional 2,988,581 shares during the last quarter. 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.