Nektar Therapeutics NKTR reported earnings of $5.33 per share in the second quarter of 2018, matching the Zacks Consensus Estimate. The company had recorded a loss of 39 cents per share in the year-ago period.Nektar’s stock was down 4.6% in after-market trading on Aug 8, presumably on significant decrease in product revenues. Shares of Nektar have lost 6.3% so far this year while the industry rose 1.6%. Quarterly revenues were $1.09 billion compared with the year-ago figure of $34.6 million. The significant increase in revenues was attributable to upfront fees received from Bristol-Myers BMY related to new strategic collaboration agreement entered into in April. The top line beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.04 billion.Quarter in DetailThe top line comprises product sales, royalty revenues, non-cash royalty revenues besides license, collaboration and other revenues.In the second quarter, product sales declined 62.6% to $5.9 million from $15.7 million a year ago. However, non-cash royalty revenues increased 36.3% to $9 million.The company reported royalty revenues of $8.6 million in the quarter, registering an improvement of 15.2% from $7.4 million a year ago.License, collaboration and other revenues came in at $1.06 billion compared with $4.8 million in the prior year. In April 2018, the company signed a new strategic collaboration agreement with Bristol-Myers, replacing its earlier clinical collaboration agreement to develop Nektar’s cancer candidate, NKTR-214, in combination with Bristol-Myers’ Opdivo and/or Yervoy. This agreement triggered an upfront payment of $1.1 billion and purchase of $850 million worth of Nektar’s common shares by Bristol-Myers.Research and development (R&D) expenses escalated 46.4% to $88.3 million, primarily due to investments in pipeline including key candidates NKTR-358, NKTR-214 and NKTR-181. It also included costs related to filing of a new drug application (“NDA”) for NKTR-181.General and administrative (G&A) expenses were up 26.9% to $20.3 million in the reported quarter primarily due to higher stock-based compensation expenses.Pipeline UpdateNektar is developing several candidates across important therapeutic areas including Onzeald in breast cancer and NKTR-181 in chronic pain. The company is also developing an immuno-oncology candidates, with NKTR-214 being a key among them.In July, the company announced that that the FDA has accepted the NDA for NKTR-181 seeking approval of the opioid analgesic for the treatment of chronic low back pain.In June, the company presented positive data from a phase II study, evaluating NKTR-214 in combination with Opdivo for treating melanoma, renal cell carcinoma and urothelial cancer in the first-line setting. Nektar and Bristol-Myers are planning to initiate a phase III study to evaluate the combination in first-line melanoma in the third quarter of 2018.In May, Nektar initiated a dose ranging phase Ib study to evaluate NKTR-358, a regulatory T cell stimulator, in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus, an autoimmune disease. The company has a worldwide license agreement with Eli Lilly LLY related to the development of NKTR-358.Onzeald is currently under evaluation in a phase III (ATTAIN) study for the treatment of adults with advanced breast cancer, having brain metastases.Nektar Therapeutics Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise Nektar Therapeutics Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise | Nektar Therapeutics QuoteZacks Rank & Stock to ConsiderNektar currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Seattle Genetics SGEN is a better-ranked stock in the pharma sector, carrying a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.Seattle Genetics’ 2018 loss per share estimates narrowed from $1.81 to 83 cents and from 81 cents to 39 cents in the last 30 days. The company delivered a positive earnings surprise in three of the trailing four quarters, with an average beat of 12.93%. The company’s shares have rallied 34.8% year to date.The Hottest Tech Mega-Trend of AllLast year, it generated $8 billion in global revenues. By 2020, it's predicted to blast through the roof to $47 billion. Famed investor Mark Cuban says it will produce "the world's first trillionaires," but that should still leave plenty of money for regular investors who make the right trades early.See Zacks' 3 Best Stocks to Play This Trend >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (BMY): Free Stock Analysis Report Eli Lilly and Company (LLY): Free Stock Analysis Report Seattle Genetics, Inc. (SGEN): Free Stock Analysis Report Nektar Therapeutics (NKTR): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research