Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) Now Covered by Rodman & Renshaw

Rodman & Renshaw initiated coverage on shares of Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm issued a buy rating and a $2.00 price objective on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock.

Several other research firms have also commented on NKTR. William Blair restated a market perform rating on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Nektar Therapeutics from $0.50 to $1.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Nektar Therapeutics has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $3.00.

Nektar Therapeutics Trading Up 8.8 %

Shares of NKTR opened at $1.24 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $1.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $1.00. Nektar Therapeutics has a 1-year low of $0.41 and a 1-year high of $1.93.

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 9th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.18) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.21) by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $21.64 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.91 million. Nektar Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 107.31% and a negative net margin of 195.02%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.25) EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Nektar Therapeutics will post -0.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Nektar Therapeutics news, major shareholder Deep Track Capital, Lp sold 56,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.78, for a total value of $99,680.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 18,344,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,652,320. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Nektar Therapeutics news, CEO Howard W. Robin sold 16,650 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.75, for a total transaction of $29,137.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 863,239 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,510,668.25. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Deep Track Capital, Lp sold 56,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.78, for a total transaction of $99,680.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 18,344,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,652,320. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 99,505 shares of company stock worth $165,089. Corporate insiders own 3.71% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 30.6% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 101,687 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 23,829 shares during the last quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 25.5% during the 4th quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 186,163 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $105,000 after purchasing an additional 37,785 shares during the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System bought a new position in shares of Nektar Therapeutics during the 1st quarter valued at about $63,000. Citigroup Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 1,993.9% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 77,978 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 74,254 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp bought a new position in shares of Nektar Therapeutics during the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. Institutional investors own 75.88% of the company’s stock.

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.