HC Wainwright Reiterates Buy Rating for Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR)

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reaffirmed by analysts at HC Wainwright in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $6.50 price target on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $4.00 price objective on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Piper Sandler began coverage on Nektar Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, November 4th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $7.00 price target for the company. Finally, B. Riley assumed coverage on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $4.00 price objective on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $4.08.

Nektar Therapeutics Trading Down 6.4 %

NKTR opened at $0.90 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $1.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $166.01 million, a P/E ratio of -1.07 and a beta of 0.59. Nektar Therapeutics has a 12 month low of $0.48 and a 12 month high of $1.93.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,195,710 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,207,667.10. This trade represents a 3.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Mark Andrew Wilson sold 33,402 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $0.90, for a total value of $30,061.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 351,892 shares in the company, valued at $316,702.80. This represents a 8.67 % 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 in the last 90 days. 3.71% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in 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 valued at $684,000 after purchasing an additional 532,663 shares during the last quarter. Nantahala Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 66.0% in the second quarter. Nantahala Capital Management LLC now owns 4,110,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $5,096,000 after purchasing an additional 1,634,046 shares during the last quarter. Samlyn Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Nektar Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at about $11,728,000. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake 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. Finally, Eventide Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 1,870,904 shares during the period. 75.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.