Nektar Therapeutics Stock Surges 6% in a Single Day—Here’s Why Traders Are Buzzing

Nektar Therapeutics just pulled off a Friday rally that left Wall Street blinking. Shares rocketed 6% in a single session—no whispers of a buyout, just pure speculative adrenaline.

The pump without the dump (for now)

Biotech stocks love a good narrative, and Nektar's chart is serving pure hopium. No FDA approvals, no blockbuster trial data—just traders front-running the next retail investor FOMO wave.

Short squeeze or sustainable momentum?

Let's be real—this is the same sector where 'phase 2 results' can mean 20% swings before lunch. The 6% pop smells like hedge funds reloading biotech bingo cards after last quarter's bloodbath.

One cynical truth? These moves aren't about pipelines—they're about liquidity cycles. When the Fed's punchbowl gets refilled, even the sketchiest biotech plays turn into 'disruptive innovators.' Until the music stops.

Sweet results

In its second quarter, Nektar booked total revenue of just under $11.2 million, which was less than half of the nearly $23.5 million in the same period of 2024. All of this derived from noncash royalty revenue connected to the sales of future royalties. This isn't unusual for a biotech without a commercialized product that depends on royalties and other payouts from partners.

Image source: Getty Images.

Nektar added that its cash and investments in marketable securities stood at just under $176 million at the end of the quarter (June 30). That, plus the roughly $107.5 million it should reap from a recent secondary share issue, should fund its operations into the first quarter of 2027.

Meanwhile, the company's net loss for the second quarter was slightly over $39 million, or $2.78 per share.

On average, analysts were projecting Nektar WOULD book $9.7 million in revenue and a net loss of only $0.20 per share. I should note here that it can be challenging for even the most experienced professionals to estimate the results of biotechs that don't draw meaningful revenue from commercialized products.

On a fast track

All that said, there are several potential tailwinds for Nektar just now, and the company wasn't shy about itemizing them in its earnings release. Among the more promising is the U.S. Food and Drug Administration granting its Fast Track designation for rezpegaldesleukin, Nektar's investigational drug targeting severe-to-very-severe alopecia areata (a skin disorder).