Nektar Therapeutics is headed for its best day since August 2023
Biotech stock Nektar Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:NKTR) is soaring today, up 83.7% at $17.52 at last glance, after the company's eczema drug, rezpegaldesleukin, met its primary and secondary goals in a mid-stage study.
NKTR is now headed for its best day since a 91.5% pop on August 7, 2023 (which occurred after promising data for the same drug). Breaking above several layers moving averages, including the 320-day trendline that kept a lid on mid-February gains, NKTR is now up 23.7% in 2025.
Options traders are blasting Nektar stock in response. So far, 6,952 calls and 6,360 puts have been exchanged, which is already 7.9 times the overall volume typically seen in an entire session. The July 9 put is the most popular, where new positions are being sold to open.
A short squeeze could power the breakout past today. Short interest fell off by over 90% in the most recent reporting, yet the 750,000 shares sold short still accounts for 6.2% of NKTR's total available float. At the stock's average pace of trading, it would take shorts more than four trading days to buy back their bearish bets.