Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) Earns Market Perform Rating from William Blair

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR)‘s stock had its “market perform” rating reissued by equities research analysts at William Blair in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,RTT News reports.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, November 4th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $7.00 price target for the company. B. Riley started coverage on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $4.00 price target for the company. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $6.50 price target on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $4.08.

Nektar Therapeutics Stock Down 10.4 %

Nektar Therapeutics stock opened at $0.78 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $143.90 million, a PE ratio of -0.93 and a beta of 0.58. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $0.91 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $1.11. Nektar Therapeutics has a twelve month low of $0.65 and a twelve month high of $1.93.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Jonathan Zalevsky sold 51,115 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 326,904 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $307,289.76. This represents a 13.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Howard W. Robin sold 46,995 shares of the 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 directly owns 1,195,710 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,207,667.10. The trade was a 3.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 165,586 shares of company stock valued at $159,990. Insiders own 3.71% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nektar Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NKTR. Two Sigma Securities LLC raised its stake in Nektar Therapeutics by 56.3% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Securities LLC now owns 27,654 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 9,958 shares in the last quarter. Harvest Investment Services LLC bought a new position in Nektar Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. US Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Nektar Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Valence8 US LP bought a new position in Nektar Therapeutics in the third quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Nektar Therapeutics in the third quarter worth about $41,000. 75.88% of the stock is 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.