WINTON GROUP Ltd Increases Stake in Nektar Therapeutics $NKTR

WINTON GROUP Ltd increased its stake in Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) by 53.2% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 25,900 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,990 shares during the period. WINTON GROUP Ltd’s holdings in Nektar Therapeutics were worth $1,808,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 93.8% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 434 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV purchased a new stake in shares of Nektar Therapeutics during the first quarter valued at $52,000. Deutsche Bank AG increased its position in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 90,743 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,837,000 after acquiring an additional 743 shares during the period. FNY Investment Advisers LLC increased its position in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 15.8% in the 2nd quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC now owns 5,500 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $383,000 after acquiring an additional 750 shares during the period. Finally, State of Wyoming purchased a new position in Nektar Therapeutics in the 1st quarter worth $67,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.88% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Nektar Therapeutics

In related news, insider Jonathan Zalevsky sold 5,681 shares of Nektar Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total value of $397,670.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 9,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $682,920. This trade represents a 36.80% decrease in their position. 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 418 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.98, for a total transaction of $30,087.64. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 54,627 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,932,051.46. The trade was a 0.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. Insiders have sold a total of 21,823 shares of company stock worth $1,380,558 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Nektar Therapeutics Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:NKTR opened at $69.76 on Friday. Nektar Therapeutics has a 12-month low of $33.40 and a 12-month high of $109.00. The business has a 50 day moving average of $72.24 and a two-hundred day moving average of $72.07. The company has a market capitalization of $2.38 billion, a PE ratio of -10.41 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) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.97) by $0.74. The business had revenue of $10.13 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.43 million. Nektar Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 287.84% and a negative return on equity of 37.87%. Equities research analysts predict that Nektar Therapeutics will post -8.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NKTR has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wall Street Zen raised Nektar Therapeutics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, May 17th. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and issued a $178.00 price objective on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday. TD Cowen upgraded Nektar Therapeutics to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 24th. Canaccord Genuity Group assumed coverage on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $153.00 price target on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, August 21st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $65.00 price target for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $141.50.

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.