Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) Announces Earnings Results

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) posted its earnings results on Wednesday. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.18) by $0.33, Zacks reports. Nektar Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 180.70% and a negative return on equity of 173.28%. The firm had revenue of $29.18 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.65 million.

Nektar Therapeutics Trading Up 2.1 %

Shares of NKTR stock traded up $0.02 on Thursday, hitting $0.84. 512,667 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,848,512. The firm has a market capitalization of $154.39 million, a PE ratio of -1.00 and a beta of 0.65. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $0.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1.08. Nektar Therapeutics has a one year low of $0.65 and a one year high of $1.93.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nektar Therapeutics

In other news, insider Mark Andrew Wilson sold 33,402 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $0.90, for a total value of $30,061.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 351,892 shares in the company, valued at approximately $316,702.80. This trade represents a 8.67 % 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 46,995 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.01, for a total transaction of $47,464.95. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,195,710 shares in the company, valued at $1,207,667.10. This trade represents a 3.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 165,586 shares of company stock valued at $159,990 in the last 90 days. 3.71% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. B. Riley started coverage on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $4.00 target price on the stock. William Blair reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $6.50 target price on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Nektar Therapeutics has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $4.70.

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.