Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) Coverage Initiated at Rodman & Renshaw

Rodman & Renshaw started coverage on shares of Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) in a report released on Friday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage issued a buy rating and a $2.00 price objective on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on NKTR. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Nektar Therapeutics from $0.50 to $1.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. William Blair restated a market perform rating on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $3.00.

Nektar Therapeutics Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of NKTR opened at $1.22 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $224.50 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.33 and a beta of 0.66. Nektar Therapeutics has a 1-year low of $0.41 and a 1-year high of $1.93. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $1.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1.01.

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 9th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.18) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.21) by $0.03. The business had revenue of $21.64 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.91 million. Nektar Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 195.02% and a negative return on equity of 107.31%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.25) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Nektar Therapeutics will post -0.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nektar Therapeutics

In other Nektar Therapeutics news, major shareholder Deep Track Capital, Lp sold 56,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.78, for a total value of $99,680.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 18,344,000 shares in the company, valued at $32,652,320. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Howard W. Robin sold 16,650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.75, for a total value of $29,137.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 863,239 shares in the company, valued at $1,510,668.25. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Deep Track Capital, Lp sold 56,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.78, for a total transaction of $99,680.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 18,344,000 shares in the company, valued at $32,652,320. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 99,505 shares of company stock worth $165,089 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 3.71% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nektar Therapeutics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Mackenzie Financial Corp acquired a new position in shares of Nektar Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at about $42,000. Citigroup Inc. grew its stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 1,993.9% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 77,978 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 74,254 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in Nektar Therapeutics by 30.6% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 101,687 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 23,829 shares during the period. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System bought a new stake in Nektar Therapeutics during the first quarter worth about $63,000. Finally, Marquette Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Nektar Therapeutics by 25.5% during the fourth quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 186,163 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $105,000 after purchasing an additional 37,785 shares during the period. 75.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.