Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) Price Target Lowered to $50.00 at Wedbush

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) had its price target decreased by research analysts at Wedbush from $80.00 to $50.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “neutral” rating on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock. Wedbush’s price objective points to a potential downside of 17.99% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen raised shares of Nektar Therapeutics to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 24th. Canaccord Genuity Group initiated 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 on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, August 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on Nektar Therapeutics in a report on Friday, August 21st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $65.00 price objective for the company. Finally, BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and set a $178.00 price objective on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, September 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Nektar Therapeutics presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $138.50.

Nektar Therapeutics Price Performance

Nektar Therapeutics stock opened at $60.97 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $2.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.10 and a beta of 1.14. Nektar Therapeutics has a 12 month low of $33.40 and a 12 month high of $109.00. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $71.58 and its 200-day moving average is $71.95.

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.23) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.97) by $0.74. The business had revenue of $10.13 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.43 million. Nektar Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 37.87% and a negative net margin of 287.84%. Research analysts anticipate that Nektar Therapeutics will post -8.28 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Jonathan Zalevsky sold 5,681 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total transaction of $397,670.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 9,756 shares in the company, valued at $682,920. The trade was a 36.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Howard W. Robin sold 418 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.98, for a total value of $30,087.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 54,627 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,932,051.46. The trade was a 0.76% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold 6,285 shares of company stock valued at $441,146 over the last 90 days. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. KBC Group NV bought a new stake in Nektar Therapeutics in the first quarter valued at about $52,000. State of Wyoming acquired a new stake in Nektar Therapeutics during the first quarter valued at approximately $67,000. Great Lakes Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Nektar Therapeutics during the second quarter valued at approximately $206,000. Arrowpoint Investment Partners Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $208,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $209,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.88% of the company’s stock.

About Nektar Therapeutics

Nektar Therapeutics is a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing medicines that harness the body’s immune system to treat cancer and autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. The company’s research is centered on cytokine biology, immune-cell regulation and its proprietary polymer-conjugation technologies, which are designed to modify therapeutic compounds and potentially improve their duration, delivery or tolerability.

Nektar’s pipeline has included investigational therapies such as rezpegaldesleukin, an immune-modulating treatment being studied for autoimmune and inflammatory conditions.