Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) Earns Buy Rating from Analysts at B. Riley

B. Riley started coverage on shares of Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) in a report issued on Wednesday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage issued a buy rating and a $4.00 target price on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on the company. HC Wainwright started coverage on Nektar Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $6.50 price objective for the company. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on Nektar Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, November 4th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $7.00 price objective for the company. Finally, BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $4.00 target price on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Nektar Therapeutics presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $4.08.

Nektar Therapeutics Stock Down 4.2 %

Shares of Nektar Therapeutics stock opened at $1.14 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $210.28 million, a PE ratio of -1.36 and a beta of 0.59. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $1.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $1.21. Nektar Therapeutics has a twelve month low of $0.48 and a twelve month high of $1.93.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nektar Therapeutics

In other Nektar Therapeutics news, CEO Howard W. Robin sold 46,995 shares of Nektar Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.01, for a total transaction of $47,464.95. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,195,710 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,207,667.10. The trade was a 3.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Jonathan Zalevsky sold 51,115 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $0.94, for a total value of $48,048.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 326,904 shares in the company, valued at approximately $307,289.76. The trade was a 13.52 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 155,575 shares of company stock valued at $149,878 over the last 90 days. 3.71% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Nektar Therapeutics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 2,822.5% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 551,535 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $684,000 after buying an additional 532,663 shares during the last quarter. Nantahala Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Nektar Therapeutics by 66.0% during the 2nd quarter. Nantahala Capital Management LLC now owns 4,110,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $5,096,000 after buying an additional 1,634,046 shares during the last quarter. Samlyn Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Nektar Therapeutics during the second quarter worth approximately $11,728,000. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in Nektar Therapeutics by 56.1% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 4,659,469 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $5,778,000 after acquiring an additional 1,674,924 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eventide Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Nektar Therapeutics by 24.8% during the 3rd quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC now owns 9,400,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $12,220,000 after acquiring an additional 1,870,904 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.88% of the company’s stock.

About Nektar Therapeutics

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.