Strength Seen in Nektar (NKTR): Can Its 12.1% Jump Turn into More Strength?

Nektar Therapeutics (NKTR) shares soared 12.1% in the last trading session to close at $9.54. The move was backed by solid volume with far more shares changing hands than in a normal session. This compares to the stock's 13.2% loss over the past four weeks.

The stock rallied as investor optimism grew over the company's review of top-line data from the phase IIb REZOLVE-AD study evaluating its pipeline candidate, rezpegaldesleukin, for treating moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis.

This biopharmaceutical company is expected to post quarterly loss of $2.53 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of +32.5%. Revenues are expected to be $10.78 million, down 54.1% from the year-ago quarter.

Earnings and revenue growth expectations certainly give a good sense of the potential strength in a stock, but empirical research shows that trends in earnings estimate revisions are strongly correlated with near-term stock price movements.

For Nektar, the consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has been revised 10.5% higher over the last 30 days to the current level. And a positive trend in earnings estimate revision usually translates into price appreciation. So, make sure to keep an eye on NKTR going forward to see if this recent jump can turn into more strength down the road.

The stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks here >>>>

Nektar belongs to the Zacks Medical - Drugs industry. Another stock from the same industry, Indivior PLC (INDV), closed the last trading session 0.4% lower at $13.95. Over the past month, INDV has returned 24.4%.

For Indivior, the consensus EPS estimate for the upcoming report has remained unchanged over the past month at $0.25. This represents a change of -43.2% from what the company reported a year ago. Indivior currently has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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