Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) Upgraded by Jefferies Financial Group to Buy Rating

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Friday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has a $2.00 price objective on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $1.00. Jefferies Financial Group’s price target points to a potential upside of 223.78% from the company’s current price.

NKTR has been the topic of a number of other research reports. B. Riley started coverage on Nektar Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $4.00 price target on the stock. Oppenheimer raised Nektar Therapeutics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $6.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 14th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $6.50 price target on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, William Blair reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, March 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Nektar Therapeutics has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $4.50.

Nektar Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of NKTR opened at $0.62 on Friday. Nektar Therapeutics has a 12 month low of $0.43 and a 12 month high of $1.93. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $0.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $0.99. The company has a market cap of $114.96 million, a P/E ratio of -0.74 and a beta of 0.69.

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

Institutional Trading of Nektar Therapeutics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Two Sigma Securities LLC boosted its stake in Nektar Therapeutics by 56.3% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Securities LLC now owns 27,654 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 9,958 shares in the last quarter. Harvest Investment Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Nektar Therapeutics during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. US Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Nektar Therapeutics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $46,000. Finally, Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Nektar Therapeutics by 42.4% during the fourth quarter. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC now owns 50,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 14,895 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.88% of the company’s stock.

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.