Insider Selling: Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) CEO Sells $47,464.95 in Stock

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) CEO Howard W. Robin sold 46,995 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,195,710 shares in the company, valued at $1,207,667.10. This represents a 3.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Nektar Therapeutics Trading Down 1.3 %

NKTR stock opened at $0.93 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $171.23 million, a PE ratio of -1.11 and a beta of 0.57. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $1.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $1.23. Nektar Therapeutics has a 12-month low of $0.46 and a 12-month high of $1.93.

Institutional Trading of Nektar Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in Nektar Therapeutics by 63.0% in the second quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 73,352 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $91,000 after buying an additional 28,338 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 2,822.5% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 551,535 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $684,000 after acquiring an additional 532,663 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers raised its stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 3,377.0% in the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 185,116 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $230,000 after acquiring an additional 179,792 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Nektar Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Candriam S.C.A. purchased a new stake in Nektar Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter worth $99,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.88% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on NKTR. Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, November 4th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $7.00 target price on the stock. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and set a $4.00 price objective on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, HC Wainwright assumed coverage on Nektar Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $6.50 target price for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Nektar Therapeutics currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $4.10.

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.