Insider Selling: Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) Insider Sells $13,036.49 in Stock

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) insider Jonathan Zalevsky sold 199 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.51, for a total transaction of $13,036.49. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 20,975 shares in the company, valued at $1,374,072.25. The trade was a 0.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.

Nektar Therapeutics Price Performance

Nektar Therapeutics stock opened at $66.61 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $77.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $61.81. Nektar Therapeutics has a 1-year low of $7.99 and a 1-year high of $109.00. The stock has a market cap of $2.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.91 and a beta of 1.24.

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.82) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.58) by ($0.24). Nektar Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 284.18% and a negative return on equity of 85.40%. The firm had revenue of $10.86 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.69 million. Equities analysts expect that Nektar Therapeutics will post -9.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nektar Therapeutics

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in NKTR. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 93.8% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 434 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV acquired a new position in shares of Nektar Therapeutics in the 1st quarter worth approximately $52,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Nektar Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $65,000. State of Wyoming acquired a new position in shares of Nektar Therapeutics in the 1st quarter worth approximately $67,000. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of Nektar Therapeutics in the 1st quarter worth approximately $68,000. 75.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NKTR has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Nektar Therapeutics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, May 17th. William Blair raised shares of Nektar Therapeutics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. B. Riley Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $150.00 price target (up from $105.00) on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, HC Wainwright increased their price target on shares of Nektar Therapeutics from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Nektar Therapeutics has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $149.63.

About Nektar Therapeutics

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.