Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) Share Price Crosses Above 200-Day Moving Average of $0.65

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR)’s share price crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $0.65 and traded as high as $1.70. Nektar Therapeutics shares last traded at $1.57, with a volume of 2,847,014 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on NKTR shares. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Nektar Therapeutics from $0.50 to $1.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. William Blair reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a report on Friday, January 26th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $3.50.

Nektar Therapeutics Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $247.89 million, a P/E ratio of -0.92 and a beta of 0.90. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $0.92 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $0.66.

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.22) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.21) by ($0.01). Nektar Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 96.80% and a negative net margin of 306.31%. The business had revenue of $23.89 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.09 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.32) earnings per share. Analysts predict that Nektar Therapeutics will post -0.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NKTR. Verition Fund Management LLC purchased a new position in Nektar Therapeutics during the first quarter valued at $55,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Nektar Therapeutics in the 1st quarter worth $61,000. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co NY grew its stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 43.7% in the 4th quarter. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co NY now owns 11,340 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 3,450 shares in the last quarter. Syntax Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Nektar Therapeutics in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Financial Advocates Investment Management purchased a new position in shares of Nektar Therapeutics in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. 75.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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 1B clinical trial to treat atopic dermatitis and psoriasis; and NKTR-255, an IL-15 receptor agonist, which is in phase 1/2 clinical trial for the treatment of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and multiple myeloma, and head and neck cancer squamous cell carcinoma and colorectal cancer.