JPMorgan Chase & Co. Grows Position in Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) by 197.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 913,300 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 606,057 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned approximately 0.50% of Nektar Therapeutics worth $1,187,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 96.1% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 358,294 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $466,000 after acquiring an additional 175,596 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new stake in Nektar Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Jane Street Group LLC raised its position in Nektar Therapeutics by 50.0% in the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 91,470 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $119,000 after purchasing an additional 30,481 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new position in Nektar Therapeutics during the third quarter worth $615,000. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 11.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,345,733 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $4,349,000 after buying an additional 355,759 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.88% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NKTR has been the topic of several research reports. Piper Sandler began coverage on Nektar Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, November 4th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $7.00 target price on the stock. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $4.00 price objective on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, September 30th. B. Riley initiated coverage on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $4.00 target price on the stock. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $6.50 price target on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $4.08.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Mark Andrew Wilson sold 33,402 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $0.90, for a total transaction of $30,061.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 351,892 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $316,702.80. This represents a 8.67 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jonathan Zalevsky sold 51,115 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $0.94, for a total value of $48,048.10. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 326,904 shares in the company, valued at $307,289.76. This trade represents a 13.52 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 155,575 shares of company stock worth $149,878. 3.71% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Nektar Therapeutics Stock Down 1.1 %

NASDAQ NKTR opened at $0.88 on Friday. Nektar Therapeutics has a 52 week low of $0.50 and a 52 week high of $1.93. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $1.00 and a two-hundred day moving average of $1.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $163.23 million, a PE ratio of -1.05 and a beta of 0.59.

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.18) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.23) by $0.05. Nektar Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 180.70% and a negative return on equity of 173.28%. The firm had revenue of $24.12 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.54 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.19) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Nektar Therapeutics will post -0.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.