HC Wainwright Expects Lower Earnings for Nektar Therapeutics

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) – Investment analysts at HC Wainwright reduced their FY2028 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, February 10th. HC Wainwright analyst A. He now expects that the biopharmaceutical company will earn ($11.28) per share for the year, down from their prior forecast of ($9.93). HC Wainwright has a “Buy” rating and a $165.00 price target on the stock. The consensus estimate for Nektar Therapeutics’ current full-year earnings is ($0.72) per share. HC Wainwright also issued estimates for Nektar Therapeutics’ FY2029 earnings at ($10.83) EPS and FY2030 earnings at ($1.48) EPS.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on NKTR. BTIG Research lifted their price objective on shares of Nektar Therapeutics from $118.00 to $151.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, December 29th. William Blair upgraded shares of Nektar Therapeutics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Nektar Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Sunday, November 16th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $119.86.

Nektar Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of NKTR stock opened at $66.26 on Thursday. Nektar Therapeutics has a 1 year low of $6.45 and a 1 year high of $67.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.35 billion, a PE ratio of -8.32 and a beta of 1.34. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $43.53 and a two-hundred day moving average of $46.10.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Howard W. Robin sold 2,207 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.28, for a total transaction of $119,795.96. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 54,245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,944,418.60. The trade was a 3.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Jonathan Zalevsky sold 3,867 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.67, for a total value of $137,935.89. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 21,354 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $761,697.18. This represents a 15.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 7,861 shares of company stock worth $354,730. Corporate insiders own 5.25% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Nektar Therapeutics

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 93.8% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 434 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 210 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its position in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 90,743 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,837,000 after acquiring an additional 743 shares in the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd boosted its stake in Nektar Therapeutics by 51.3% in the 4th quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 2,541 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $107,000 after purchasing an additional 862 shares during the period. FNY Investment Advisers LLC boosted its stake in Nektar Therapeutics by 70.6% in the 3rd quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC now owns 2,602 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $148,000 after purchasing an additional 1,077 shares during the period. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. grew its position in Nektar Therapeutics by 1,741.2% during the 3rd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,565 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $90,000 after purchasing an additional 1,480 shares in the last quarter. 75.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

More Nektar Therapeutics News

Here are the key news stories impacting Nektar Therapeutics this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Positive REZOLVE‑AD Phase 2b 36‑week maintenance data: results showed durable and deepening disease control for rezpegaldesleukin in atopic dermatitis — the clinical readout is the main catalyst for the rally and potential late‑stage program talk. REZOLVE‑AD maintenance data
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple analyst upgrades and price‑target increases (HC Wainwright to $165, BTIG to $151, William Blair upgrade) reflecting improved commercial/clinical outlook and driving more buy interest. Analyst coverage updates
• Positive Sentiment: Elevated market activity and options volume: unusually high trading volume and heavy call buying indicate speculative and institutional interest following the trial and upgrades. Volume/upgrade note
• Neutral Sentiment: Company scheduled/hosted investor conference call to discuss the 36‑week results — useful for details but already largely priced in. Conference call
• Negative Sentiment: Equity offering/dilution risk — Nektar launched a $300M proposed offering and later priced an upsized $400M public offering (6.6M shares + pre‑funded warrants). This raises dilution concerns that can temper enthusiasm despite the clinical news. Offering priced
• Negative Sentiment: HC Wainwright cut multi‑year EPS forecasts (FY2028/FY2029) even as it raised its near‑term price target — suggests modeling uncertainty (costs, dilution, or conservative long‑term cash flow assumptions). HC Wainwright estimates

Nektar Therapeutics Company Profile

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) is a biopharmaceutical company dedicated to discovering and developing novel drug candidates through its proprietary chemistry and immunology platforms. The company focuses on polymer conjugate technology, which enables the creation of longer-acting versions of existing drugs, and on T-cell modulatory therapies aimed at harnessing the body’s immune system to treat cancer and other serious diseases.

Nektar’s product portfolio and pipeline include a range of clinical-stage and partnered programs.