Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) have received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the six brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have assigned a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $2.33.

Separately, BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $4.00 price target on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, September 30th.

Nektar Therapeutics Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of Nektar Therapeutics stock opened at $1.25 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $230.03 million, a PE ratio of -1.36 and a beta of 0.60. Nektar Therapeutics has a twelve month low of $0.41 and a twelve month high of $1.93. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $1.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $1.34.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.21) by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $23.49 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.24 million. Nektar Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 190.09% and a negative return on equity of 133.64%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.27) earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Nektar Therapeutics will post -0.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NKTR. Samlyn Capital LLC purchased a new position in Nektar Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $11,728,000. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 56.1% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 4,659,469 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $5,778,000 after buying an additional 1,674,924 shares during the last quarter. Nantahala Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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. Armistice Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,037,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 532,663 shares during the last quarter. 75.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.