Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) gapped up prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $69.36, but opened at $73.31. Nektar Therapeutics shares last traded at $70.28, with a volume of 117,685 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Nektar Therapeutics from $105.00 to $192.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Wedbush decreased their price objective on shares of Nektar Therapeutics from $95.00 to $80.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 11th. Wall Street Zen raised Nektar Therapeutics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, May 17th. Canaccord Genuity Group began coverage on Nektar Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday. They set a “buy” rating and a $153.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $150.00.

Nektar Therapeutics Trading Up 2.4%

The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $65.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $65.41. The firm has a market cap of $2.40 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.46 and a beta of 1.13.

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.82) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.58) by ($0.24). Nektar Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 85.40% and a negative net margin of 284.18%.The company had revenue of $10.86 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.69 million. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Nektar Therapeutics will post -9.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Nektar Therapeutics

In other Nektar Therapeutics news, insider Jonathan Zalevsky sold 5,681 shares of Nektar Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total value of $397,670.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 9,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $682,920. The trade was a 36.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Howard W. Robin sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.32, for a total transaction of $603,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 65,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,923,514.40. This represents a 13.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 21,862 shares of company stock worth $1,379,205 in the last 90 days. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Nektar Therapeutics

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of NKTR. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Nektar Therapeutics by 336.9% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,640,851 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,463,000 after acquiring an additional 2,807,595 shares during the period. BVF Inc. IL grew its stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 22.2% during the 4th quarter. BVF Inc. IL now owns 1,559,595 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $65,940,000 after purchasing an additional 283,000 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 30.0% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 948,647 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $53,978,000 after purchasing an additional 219,155 shares during the last quarter. Two Seas Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,506,000. Finally, Armistice Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 122.4% in the 4th quarter. Armistice Capital LLC now owns 596,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $25,199,000 after purchasing an additional 328,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.88% of the company’s stock.

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.