Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) Coverage Initiated at Piper Sandler

Equities research analysts at Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) in a report issued on Monday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm set an “overweight” rating and a $7.00 price target on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock. Piper Sandler’s target price suggests a potential upside of 400.00% from the company’s current price.

Separately, BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and issued a $4.00 price objective on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a report on Monday, September 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Nektar Therapeutics presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $3.50.

Nektar Therapeutics Stock Up 5.3 %

NKTR stock opened at $1.40 on Monday. Nektar Therapeutics has a 52-week low of $0.41 and a 52-week high of $1.93. The stock has a market cap of $257.71 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.56 and a beta of 0.61. The business has a fifty day moving average of $1.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of $1.34.

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.25) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.21) by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $23.49 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 in the previous year, the business posted ($0.27) earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Nektar Therapeutics will post -0.85 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Nektar Therapeutics

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in NKTR. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in Nektar Therapeutics by 30.4% during the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 95,637 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $124,000 after buying an additional 22,285 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics during the second quarter worth $29,000. Values First Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at $56,000. Marquette Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Nektar Therapeutics by 24.8% in the first quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 232,289 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $217,000 after purchasing an additional 46,126 shares during the period. Finally, State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System acquired a new position in Nektar Therapeutics during the 1st quarter worth $63,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.