Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at B. Riley

B. Riley started coverage on shares of Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) in a research note published on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage issued a buy rating and a $4.00 price objective on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock.

Several other research firms have also commented on NKTR. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $4.00 price objective on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, September 30th. HC Wainwright began coverage on Nektar Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $6.50 target price on the stock. Finally, Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, November 4th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $7.00 target price for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $4.08.

Nektar Therapeutics Price Performance

NASDAQ:NKTR opened at $1.14 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $210.28 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.36 and a beta of 0.59. Nektar Therapeutics has a 1 year low of $0.48 and a 1 year high of $1.93. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $1.09 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $1.21.

Insider Activity at Nektar Therapeutics

In other news, insider Jonathan Zalevsky sold 51,115 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $0.94, for a total transaction of $48,048.10. Following the sale, the insider now owns 326,904 shares in the company, valued at approximately $307,289.76. The trade was a 13.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Howard W. Robin sold 46,995 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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. This represents a 3.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 155,575 shares of company stock valued at $149,878 over the last ninety days. 3.71% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of NKTR. Samlyn Capital LLC purchased a new position in Nektar Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $11,728,000. Eventide Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 24.8% during the third quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC now owns 9,400,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $12,220,000 after purchasing an additional 1,870,904 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in Nektar Therapeutics by 56.1% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 4,659,469 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $5,778,000 after purchasing an additional 1,674,924 shares during the last quarter. Nantahala Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 66.0% in the 2nd quarter. Nantahala Capital Management LLC now owns 4,110,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $5,096,000 after buying an additional 1,634,046 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 11.9% in 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 last quarter. 75.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.