Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) has earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the five research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $1.50.

Separately, Rodman & Renshaw assumed coverage on Nektar Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, June 28th. They set a “buy” rating and a $2.00 price target on the stock.

Nektar Therapeutics Stock Up 4.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ NKTR opened at $1.31 on Wednesday. Nektar Therapeutics has a 52 week low of $0.41 and a 52 week high of $1.93. The firm has a market cap of $241.07 million, a P/E ratio of -1.42 and a beta of 0.60. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $1.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $1.27.

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.25) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.21) by ($0.04). Nektar Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 190.09% and a negative return on equity of 133.64%. The business had revenue of $23.49 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.24 million. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.27) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Nektar Therapeutics will post -0.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Nektar Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Samlyn Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Nektar Therapeutics in the second quarter worth about $11,728,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP increased its stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 185.5% in the 4th quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 5,255,790 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,970,000 after purchasing an additional 3,414,712 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in Nektar Therapeutics by 56.1% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 4,659,469 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $5,778,000 after purchasing an additional 1,674,924 shares during the period. Nantahala Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Nektar Therapeutics by 66.0% during the second quarter. Nantahala Capital Management LLC now owns 4,110,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $5,096,000 after purchasing an additional 1,634,046 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lynx1 Capital Management LP grew its holdings in Nektar Therapeutics by 7.2% in the first quarter. Lynx1 Capital Management LP now owns 2,068,842 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,933,000 after purchasing an additional 139,644 shares during the period. 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.