Nektar Therapeutics NKTR reported a loss of 69 cents per share for the second quarter of 2021, narrower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of 72 cents but wider than the year-ago loss of 45 cents.Quarterly revenues were down 42% year over year to $28.3 million during the quarter. However, revenues beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $26.42 million. In the year-ago period, the company had recorded milestone payment of $25 million from its partner, Bristol-Myers BMY related to initiation of the registrational study of Nektar’s bempegaldesleukin plus Bristol-Myers’ Opdivo in adjuvant melanoma. Such milestone payment was absent during the reported quarter.Nektar’s shares were up 1.4% in after-hours trading on Aug 5 following robust quarterly results. Shares of the company have declined 6.7% so far this year compared with the industry’s decrease of 11.1%.Image Source: Zacks Investment ResearchQuarter in DetailNektar’s top line comprises product sales, royalty revenues, non-cash royalty revenues along with license, collaboration and other revenues.In the second quarter, product sales increased 43% from the year-ago period to $7.8 million. Non-cash royalty revenues were $20.5 million in the quarter compared with $7.7 million in the year-ago quarter.License, collaboration and other revenues were $28,000 in the quarter compared with $26.3 million in the year-ago quarter. The year-ago period included the Bristol-Myers’ milestone payment.Research and development (R&D) expenses increased 5.1% to $101.3 million. General and administrative (G&A) expenses were up 21.4% year over year to $29.6 million in the reported quarter. The increase in G&A expenses was led by costs to support pre-commercialization activities related to bempegaldesleukin.Pipeline UpdateNektar remains on track with the development of its lead pipeline candidate, bempegaldesleukin, as a potential treatment for different oncology indications.Top-line data from three registrational studies evaluating bempegaldesleukin plus Opdivo in patients with melanoma, renal cell carcinoma and bladder cancer is expected in the first half of 2022. Two other registrational studies are evaluating the combination regimen as potential treatment for urothelial cancer and adjuvant melanoma.Data from the phase I/II study — PROPEL — evaluating bempegaldesleukin in combination with Merck’s MRK Keytruda for treating metastatic non-small cell lung cancer is expected later this year. A phase II/III study is evaluating the combination regimen as first-line treatment for metastatic or unresectable recurrent squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck in patients whose tumors express PD-L1.Apart from bempegaldesleukin, Nektar has two other key pipeline candidates — NKTR-255 and NKTR-358. The company’s partner, Eli Lilly LLY is evaluating NKTR-358 in several early- to mid-stage studies targeting inflammatory or autoimmune diseases. Nektar is developing NKTR-255 for treating several oncology indications including non-Hodgkin lymphoma, multiple myeloma, head and neck squamous cell carcinoma and colorectal cancer in early-stage studies.Nektar Therapeutics Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise Nektar Therapeutics price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Nektar Therapeutics QuoteZacks RankNektar currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. Infrastructure Stock Boom to Sweep America A massive push to rebuild the crumbling U.S. infrastructure will soon be underway. It’s bipartisan, urgent, and inevitable. Trillions will be spent. Fortunes will be made. The only question is “Will you get into the right stocks early when their growth potential is greatest?” Zacks has released a Special Report to help you do just that, and today it’s free. Discover 7 special companies that look to gain the most from construction and repair to roads, bridges, and buildings, plus cargo hauling and energy transformation on an almost unimaginable scale.Download FREE: How to Profit from Trillions on Spending for Infrastructure >>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 Merck & Co., Inc. (MRK): Free Stock Analysis Report Eli Lilly and Company (LLY): Free Stock Analysis Report Nektar Therapeutics (NKTR): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research