Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Has $1.79 Million Holdings in Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR)

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) by 43.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,911,186 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 1,492,979 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. owned 1.04% of Nektar Therapeutics worth $1,785,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Nektar Therapeutics by 30.6% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 101,687 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 23,829 shares during the period. Marquette Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Nektar Therapeutics by 25.5% in the fourth quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 186,163 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $105,000 after purchasing an additional 37,785 shares in the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System bought a new stake in Nektar Therapeutics in the first quarter valued at $63,000. Citigroup Inc. increased its stake in Nektar Therapeutics by 1,993.9% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 77,978 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 74,254 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp bought a new stake in Nektar Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.88% of the company’s stock.

Nektar Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:NKTR opened at $1.34 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $1.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $1.13. Nektar Therapeutics has a one year low of $0.41 and a one year high of $1.93.

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 9th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.18) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.21) by $0.03. The company had revenue of $21.64 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.91 million. Nektar Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 195.02% and a negative return on equity of 107.31%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.25) EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Nektar Therapeutics will post -0.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Deep Track Capital, Lp sold 56,000 shares of Nektar Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.78, for a total transaction of $99,680.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 18,344,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,652,320. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Nektar Therapeutics news, major shareholder Deep Track Capital, Lp sold 56,000 shares of Nektar Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.78, for a total value of $99,680.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 18,344,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $32,652,320. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Howard W. Robin sold 16,650 shares of Nektar Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.75, for a total transaction of $29,137.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 863,239 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,510,668.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 99,505 shares of company stock valued at $165,089. Corporate insiders own 3.71% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Rodman & Renshaw assumed coverage on shares of Nektar Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, June 28th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $2.00 price target for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $3.00.

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.