NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / July 12, 2017 / After a dismal 2016, the Biotech Industry has rallied back in 2017 as regulation fears have subsided. The iShares NASDAQ Biotechnology Index ETF and the SPDR S&P Biotech ETF have posted impressive year-to-date gains of 17.38 percent and 31.14 percent, respectively. In comparison, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 Index have posted gains of 8.41 percent and 8.35 percent. New drug approvals have been trending upwards in 2017. There have already been 23 new novel drug approvals by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration this year, compared to just 22 in all of 2016.

RDI Initiates Coverage on:

Nektar Therapeutics
https://ub.rdinvesting.com/news/?ticker=NKTR

Catalyst Pharmaceuticals Inc.
https://ub.rdinvesting.com/news/?ticker=CPRX

Nektar Therapeutics's stock jumped 7.43% Tuesday, to close the day at $20.96. The stock recorded a trading volume of 1,480,936 shares, which was below its three months average volume of 1,587,920 shares. In the last year Nektar Therapeutics's shares have traded in a range of 11.41 - 24.88. The share price has gained 83.70% from its 52 week low. The company's shares are currently trading above their 200-day moving average. Moreover, the stock's 50-day moving average of $19.35 is greater than its 200-day moving average of $16.66.

On July 10th, the company announced positive preclinical results for NKTR-358, a first-in-class resolution therapeutic for autoimmune disease. Shares of Nektar Therapeutics have gained approximately 70.42 percent year-to-date.

"These studies show that NKTR-358 increases the suppressive capacity and prolongs activation and proliferation of regulatory T cells with limited effects on conventional T cells in order to address the imbalance found in many autoimmune diseases," said Jonathan Zalevsky, PhD, Senior Vice President, Biology and Preclinical Development at Nektar Therapeutics.

Access RDI's Nektar Therapeutics Research Report at:
https://ub.rdinvesting.com/news/?ticker=NKTR

On Tuesday, shares in Catalyst Pharmaceuticals Inc. recorded a trading volume of 2,779,426 shares, which was above the three months average volume of 788,044 shares. The stock ended the day 9.61% higher at 3.08. The share price has gained 352.94% from its 52 week low with a 52 week trading range of 0.68 - 3.13.The company's shares are currently trading above their 200-day moving average. Moreover, the stock's 50-day moving average of $2.33 is greater than its 200-day moving average of $1.62.

Catalyst is developing amifampridine phosphate for the treatment of LEMS, a rare neuromuscular, autoimmune disorder frequently associated with small cell lung cancer. On June 26th, Catalyst Pharmaceuticals was added to the broad-market Russell 3000 Index. Shares of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals have gained approximately 193.33 percent year-to-date.

Access RDI's Catalyst Pharmaceuticals Research Report at:
https://ub.rdinvesting.com/news/?ticker=CPRX

Our Actionable Research on Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ: NKTR) and Catalyst Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: CPRX) can be downloaded free of charge at Research Driven Investing.

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SOURCE: RDInvesting.com