Renaissance Technologies LLC Cuts Holdings in Nektar Therapeutics $NKTR

Renaissance Technologies LLC lowered its position in Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) by 75.8% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 41,781 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 131,100 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC’s holdings in Nektar Therapeutics were worth $3,006,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Nektar Therapeutics by 336.9% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,640,851 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,463,000 after acquiring an additional 2,807,595 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics during the 1st quarter worth about $68,000. Rhumbline Advisers grew its holdings in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 23.3% during the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 221,761 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $151,000 after purchasing an additional 41,948 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in Nektar Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $367,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in Nektar Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $65,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.88% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nektar Therapeutics

In other news, insider Jonathan Zalevsky sold 5,681 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 9,756 shares in the company, valued at approximately $682,920. This represents a 36.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Howard W. Robin sold 10,000 shares of the firm’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 directly owned 65,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,923,514.40. The trade was 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 valued at $1,379,205 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wedbush reduced their price target on shares of Nektar Therapeutics from $95.00 to $80.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Nektar Therapeutics from $105.00 to $192.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Nektar Therapeutics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, May 17th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group started coverage on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $153.00 price target for the company. 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Nektar Therapeutics currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $150.00.

Nektar Therapeutics Stock Performance

Nektar Therapeutics stock opened at $76.48 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.58 billion, a PE ratio of -9.08 and a beta of 1.14. Nektar Therapeutics has a one year low of $22.01 and a one year high of $109.00. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $66.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $67.71.

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

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.