Acadian Asset Management LLC Sells 2,684,469 Shares of Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR)

Acadian Asset Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) by 35.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,884,594 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 2,684,469 shares during the quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC owned about 2.65% of Nektar Therapeutics worth $6,055,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. GSA Capital Partners LLP increased its holdings in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 185.5% in the fourth quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 5,255,790 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,970,000 after purchasing an additional 3,414,712 shares during the period. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System purchased a new stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics in the 1st quarter valued at $63,000. Values First Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Nektar Therapeutics during the second quarter valued at about $56,000. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in Nektar Therapeutics by 63.0% during the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 73,352 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $91,000 after acquiring an additional 28,338 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers increased its stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 3,377.0% in the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 185,116 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $230,000 after buying an additional 179,792 shares during the period. 75.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Rodman & Renshaw began coverage on Nektar Therapeutics in a report on Friday, June 28th. They set a “buy” rating and a $2.00 target price for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Nektar Therapeutics currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1.50.

Nektar Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of Nektar Therapeutics stock opened at $1.25 on Thursday. Nektar Therapeutics has a 1 year low of $0.41 and a 1 year high of $1.93. The company has a 50-day moving average of $1.28 and a 200 day moving average of $1.26. The firm has a market cap of $230.03 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.36 and a beta of 0.60.

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

Nektar Therapeutics 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.