Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) Coverage Initiated at Piper Sandler

Piper Sandler assumed coverage on shares of Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) in a research note released on Monday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage issued an overweight rating and a $7.00 price objective on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock.

Separately, BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $4.00 price target on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, September 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $3.50.

Nektar Therapeutics Price Performance

NKTR stock opened at $1.37 on Monday. Nektar Therapeutics has a fifty-two week low of $0.41 and a fifty-two week high of $1.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $252.19 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.52 and a beta of 0.61. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $1.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $1.34.

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.25) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.21) by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $23.49 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.24 million. Nektar Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 133.64% and a negative net margin of 190.09%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.27) earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Nektar Therapeutics will post -0.85 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nektar Therapeutics

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of NKTR. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 30.4% in the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 95,637 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $124,000 after purchasing an additional 22,285 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Nektar Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Values First Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Nektar Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at about $56,000. Marquette Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Nektar Therapeutics by 24.8% during the first quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 232,289 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $217,000 after acquiring an additional 46,126 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System bought a new position in shares of Nektar Therapeutics in the first quarter worth about $63,000. 75.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.