Btw NKTR crashing again today

This board had great luck with its initial jump into biotech. However NKTR’s path is far more common with biotechs. I do not know what news, but down it has gone again today on some bit of news or other.

But, at some point new hope will reveal itself and it will arise! Such is the way of biotechs.

No thoughts here on the merits of NKTR or demerits of NKTR. There may be a time that I get back into investing in biotechs. But that normally only occurs when I can find nothing better to invest in, which at this point in time is clearly not the case.

For those holding, absent whatever the news is, this is just what happens to biotechs. They have a very familiar cycle that I wrote about before. It is why I avoid them now. Actually, by the time I get interested in biotechs again, that may be the time to go to cash. Albeit, I do follow NKTR in a cursory fashion as it has a lot going for it potentially.

Tinker

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I have a small position in NKTR as my only biotech. It seems hard to imagine the market being so wrong in interpreting NKTR-214 clinical response rates provided at ASCO in June, but I mainly bought for expected better response rates when they release later data in November at SITC and the treatment has had more time to work on the additional patients.

Aside from the down market, the short report (Pegging the Value of NKTR-214 at Zero put out at the beginning of this month) helped push NKTR’s shares down, to where I am currently sitting at a 26% loss on my smallest position is the only news I have seen. I see no news either today (I came here as I searched the web for any news). So I plan on adding a little bit here (although the stock may bounce back up before funds transfer but I’ll just buy anyways). I figured about right now may be the last time to buy before updated results next month. SITC is November 7-11 next month. I believe NKTR reports on the Friday the 9th after market close.

I am not much of a biotech fan. Until last year, I haven’t bought biotech since DNDN. Last year I bought some stocks in gene editing and gene therapy, mainly BLUE, but the field is changing so fast that promising treatments can be obsolete within years of being on the market.

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The only thing I could find was this; perhaps a sympathy drop.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/why-mirati-therapeutics-inc-p…

What happened

Shares of Mirati Therapeutics (NASDAQ: MRTX), a high-flying biotech focused on cancer, plunged 16% as of 11:35 a.m. on Monday. The drop is a response to the release of clinical data from a phase 2 trial that failed to impress.

So what

Mirati presented data from its ongoing phase 2 trial that is testing its compound sitravatinib in combination with Bristol-Myers Squibb’s (NYSE: BMY) blockbuster drug Opdivo as a possible treatment for lung cancer.

Best,
Matt

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This board had great luck with its initial jump into biotech. However NKTR’s path is far more common with biotechs. I do not know what news, but down it has gone again today on some bit of news or other.

To be very honest, I’m surprised that Nektar Therapeutics gets the most modest notes of notes.

The company, over thirty years in the making, currently losing money at an accelerated rate (YOY), had a ‘major’ flash in the pan stock price run up ten months ago… unsustained…

May be a buy in the future, just not now…

“To be very honest, I’m surprised that Nektar Therapeutics gets the most modest notes of notes.”

Not sure if you recall, but NKTR was a huge deal here (https://discussion.fool.com/nektar-new-position-discussion-33010…). It was an 8% position for Saul just a bit over 7 months ago (https://discussion.fool.com/nektar-new-position-discussion-33010…).

I am not much of a biotech fan. Until last year, I haven’t bought biotech since DNDN. Last year I bought some stocks in gene editing and gene therapy, mainly BLUE, but the field is changing so fast that promising treatments can be obsolete within years of being on the market.

I also had not invested in biotech for many years before dipping a toe back in with NKTR. Now I am reminded why I avoided the sector. It’s completely unpredictable.

I would counsel others here to avoid biotech.

I’m not sure what I will do with my tiny position in NKTR.

Dave

It’s completely unpredictable.

It’s absolutely unpredictable. I believe what is attractive about it is the “betting on binary events.” I have no way of knowing if the market is right or not, with what is in the next report of NKTR-214. It appeals to gambling urges, and retirement accounts have no place at the casino. I concede my position in NKTR is akin to gambling, but this company has so much going for it and has been beaten down, I had to take a bet.

As for today’s action, I can handle a 17% down move for no reason whatsoever. It gives me a chance to add a little.

If the abstracts at SITC are unfavorable, a new gameplan with what to do with the stock will have to be drawn.

There are too many trailblazing companies out there to be stuck with duds right now.

You basically have the company itself saying the market is overreacting.
https://endpts.com/nektar-wants-everyone-to-stay-calm-as-the…

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That’s from the previous 30% drop back in June.