Primecap Management Co. CA Cuts Position in Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR)

Primecap Management Co. CA reduced its position in shares of Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) by 6.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,540,386 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 372,067 shares during the quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA’s holdings in Nektar Therapeutics were worth $5,153,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of NKTR. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its position in Nektar Therapeutics by 5.6% during the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 650,841 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $846,000 after purchasing an additional 34,599 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Nektar Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter valued at $41,000. Valence8 US LP purchased a new position in Nektar Therapeutics during the third quarter worth $34,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new position in shares of Nektar Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter worth about $86,000. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 403.2% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 386,656 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $503,000 after buying an additional 309,822 shares during the period. 75.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. B. Riley assumed coverage on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $4.00 target price on the stock. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $6.50 target price on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Oppenheimer upgraded Nektar Therapeutics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $6.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $4.92.

Insider Transactions at Nektar Therapeutics

In other news, insider Mark Andrew Wilson sold 33,402 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $0.90, for a total transaction of $30,061.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 351,892 shares in the company, valued at $316,702.80. This represents a 8.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 67,476 shares of company stock valued at $64,477. Corporate insiders own 3.71% of the company’s stock.

Nektar Therapeutics Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:NKTR opened at $0.90 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $165.50 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.07 and a beta of 0.65. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $0.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $1.07. Nektar Therapeutics has a 12-month low of $0.65 and a 12-month high of $1.93.

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, March 12th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.18) by $0.33. Nektar Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 180.70% and a negative return on equity of 173.28%. The company had revenue of $29.18 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.65 million. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Nektar Therapeutics will post -0.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Nektar Therapeutics

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.