Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, four have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $4.08.

A number of research firms have weighed in on NKTR. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $6.50 price objective on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. William Blair reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, B. Riley started coverage on Nektar Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $4.00 price objective for the company.

Nektar Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of Nektar Therapeutics stock opened at $0.84 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $155.65 million, a P/E ratio of -1.00 and a beta of 0.58. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $0.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1.10. Nektar Therapeutics has a twelve month low of $0.65 and a twelve month high of $1.93.

Insider Activity at Nektar Therapeutics

In other news, insider Jonathan Zalevsky sold 51,115 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $0.94, for a total transaction of $48,048.10. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 326,904 shares in the company, valued at approximately $307,289.76. This represents a 13.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Mark Andrew Wilson sold 33,402 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $30,061.80. Following the completion of the sale, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 165,586 shares of company stock valued at $159,990 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 3.71% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of NKTR. Two Sigma Securities LLC raised its position in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 56.3% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Securities LLC now owns 27,654 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 9,958 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 192,978 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $180,000 after purchasing an additional 10,941 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in Nektar Therapeutics by 12.2% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 107,318 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $100,000 after purchasing an additional 11,681 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Nektar Therapeutics by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,414,984 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,316,000 after buying an additional 12,826 shares during the period. Finally, Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Nektar Therapeutics by 42.4% during the fourth quarter. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC now owns 50,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 14,895 shares during the last quarter. 75.88% of the stock is currently owned by 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.