Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ: NKTR) has seen a rise in its stock price by 3.99 in relation to its previous close of 1.17. However, the company has experienced a 28.89% gain in its stock price over the last five trading sessions. prnewswire.com reported 2024-12-07 that 73% of the NKTR-255 treatment group compared to 50% of the placebo group achieved a complete response at 6 months NKTR-255 enhanced CAR T-cell kinetics with improved CD8+ CAR-T area under the curve (AUC) 0-15 days post-administration being 5.8-fold greater than placebo-controls SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 7, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Nektar Therapeutics (Nasdaq: NKTR) today announced results of its Phase 2 proof-of-concept study evaluating NKTR-255 as an adjuvant treatment to enhance complete response rate (CRR) and durability following CD19-directed CAR-T therapy in patients with relapsed/refractory (R/R) Large B-cell Lymphoma (LBCL) at the 66th ASH Annual Meeting and Exposition in San Diego, California. NKTR-255 is an investigational polymer-conjugated IL-15 agonist, that activates, proliferates and expands natural killer (NK) and CD8+ T-cells in vivo, as well as promotes the survival and expansion of memory CD8+ T cells intended to increase duration and level of response for CAR-T and cellular therapies.1,2 In this multicenter, double-blind Phase 2 study, patients were randomized to receive one of three dose regimens of NKTR-255 or placebo intravenously starting 14 days after CAR-T infusion.
Is It Worth Investing in Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ: NKTR) Right Now?
Company’s 36-month beta value is 0.60.Analysts have differing opinions on the stock, with 1 analysts rating it as a “buy,” 2 as “overweight,” 3 as “hold,” and 0 as “sell.”
The public float for NKTR is 177.74M, and currently, short sellers hold a 2.47% ratio of that floaft. The average trading volume of NKTR on January 07, 2025 was 1.80M shares.
NKTR’s Market Performance
NKTR’s stock has seen a 28.89% increase for the week, with a 19.28% rise in the past month and a -4.95% fall in the past quarter. The volatility ratio for the week is 9.40%, and the volatility levels for the past 30 days are at 7.27% for Nektar Therapeutics The simple moving average for the past 20 days is 22.25% for NKTR’s stock, with a -4.21% simple moving average for the past 200 days.
Analysts’ Opinion of NKTR
Many brokerage firms have already submitted their reports for NKTR stocks, with H.C. Wainwright repeating the rating for NKTR by listing it as a “Buy.” The predicted price for NKTR in the upcoming period, according to H.C. Wainwright is $6.50 based on the research report published on December 10, 2024 of the previous year 2024.
Piper Sandler, on the other hand, stated in their research note that they expect to see NKTR reach a price target of $7. The rating they have provided for NKTR stocks is “Overweight” according to the report published on November 04th, 2024.
BTIG Research gave a rating of “Buy” to NKTR, setting the target price at $4 in the report published on September 30th of the previous year.
NKTR Trading at 9.66% from the 50-Day Moving Average
After a stumble in the market that brought NKTR to its low price for the period of the last 52 weeks, the company was unable to rebound, for now settling with -36.89% of loss for the given period.
Volatility was left at 7.27%, however, over the last 30 days, the volatility rate increased by 9.40%, as shares surge +20.10% for the moving average over the last 20 days. Over the last 50 days, in opposition, the stock is trading -9.26% lower at present.
During the last 5 trading sessions, NKTR rose by +29.77%, which changed the moving average for the period of 200-days by +36.52% in comparison to the 20-day moving average, which settled at $0.9957. In addition, Nektar Therapeutics saw 30.83% in overturn over a single year, with a tendency to cut further gains.
Insider Trading
Reports are indicating that there were more than several insider trading activities at NKTR starting from Wilson Mark Andrew, who sale 33,402 shares at the price of $0.90 back on Dec 23 ’24. After this action, Wilson Mark Andrew now owns 351,892 shares of Nektar Therapeutics, valued at $30,062 using the latest closing price.
Wilson Mark Andrew, the Chief Legal Officer of Nektar Therapeutics, sale 16,560 shares at $0.89 during a trade that took place back on Dec 24 ’24, which means that Wilson Mark Andrew is holding 335,332 shares at $14,738 based on the most recent closing price.
Stock Fundamentals for NKTR
Current profitability levels for the company are sitting at:
- -1.46 for the present operating margin
- 0.68 for the gross margin
The net margin for Nektar Therapeutics stands at -1.81. The total capital return value is set at -0.57. Equity return is now at value -161.63, with -44.87 for asset returns.
Currently, EBITDA for the company is -243.11 million with net debt to EBITDA at -0.57. When we switch over and look at the enterprise to sales, we see a ratio of 3.26. The receivables turnover for the company is 43.87for trailing twelve months and the total asset turnover is 0.3. The liquidity ratio also appears to be rather interesting for investors as it stands at 4.24.
Conclusion
In a nutshell, Nektar Therapeutics (NKTR) has experienced a better performance in recent times. The stock has received mixed “buy” and “hold” ratings from analysts. It’s important to note that the stock is currently trading at a significant distance from its 50-day moving average and its 52-week high.
