Traders Buy Large Volume of Call Options on Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR)

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) was the target of unusually large options trading on Friday. Investors purchased 2,351 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 245% compared to the average daily volume of 681 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NKTR has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. William Blair restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. B. Riley assumed coverage on Nektar Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $4.00 price objective 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. Finally, Oppenheimer upgraded shares of Nektar Therapeutics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $6.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Nektar Therapeutics has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $4.92.

Nektar Therapeutics Stock Up 1.1 %

NKTR stock traded up $0.01 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $0.77. 522,227 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,870,139. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $0.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $1.05. Nektar Therapeutics has a twelve month low of $0.65 and a twelve month high of $1.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $142.56 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.91 and a beta of 0.65.

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, March 12th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.15 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $29.18 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.65 million. Equities research analysts forecast that Nektar Therapeutics will post -0.72 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Nektar Therapeutics

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NKTR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Nektar Therapeutics by 197.3% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 913,300 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,187,000 after buying an additional 606,057 shares during the period. Peapod Lane Capital LLC bought a new position in Nektar Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth $1,030,000. Eventide Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Nektar Therapeutics by 24.8% during the 3rd quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC now owns 9,400,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $12,220,000 after purchasing an additional 1,870,904 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Nektar Therapeutics by 11.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,345,733 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $4,349,000 after purchasing an additional 355,759 shares during the period. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new stake in Nektar Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter worth $86,000. Institutional investors own 75.88% of the company’s stock.

Nektar Therapeutics Company Profile

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.