Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) Shares Down 9.6% – Should You Sell?

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) shares were down 9.6% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $61.74 and last traded at $60.4340. Approximately 1,153,889 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 14% from the average session volume of 1,008,141 shares. The stock had previously closed at $66.84.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NKTR has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $178.00 price objective on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, September 16th. Canaccord Genuity Group began coverage on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $153.00 price target for the company. Wedbush decreased their price target on shares of Nektar Therapeutics from $80.00 to $50.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, August 28th. Finally, TD Cowen raised Nektar Therapeutics to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $138.50.

Nektar Therapeutics Stock Performance

The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $71.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $71.85. The company has a market cap of $1.97 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.61 and a beta of 1.14.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Jonathan Zalevsky sold 5,681 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total value of $397,670.00. Following 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Howard W. Robin sold 418 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.98, for a total value of $30,087.64. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 54,627 shares in the company, valued at $3,932,051.46. This represents a 0.76% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 6,285 shares of company stock worth $441,146. 2.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nektar Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. KBC Group NV acquired a new position in shares of Nektar Therapeutics during the first quarter worth $52,000. State of Wyoming bought a new position in shares of Nektar Therapeutics during the 1st quarter worth approximately $67,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics in the 1st quarter valued at about $209,000. Great Lakes Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Nektar Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter worth $206,000. Finally, Pale Fire Capital SE acquired a new position in shares of Nektar Therapeutics during the second quarter valued at about $234,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.