ImmunityBio (NASDAQ:IBRX) Trading 8.3% Higher – What’s Next?

ImmunityBio, Inc. (NASDAQ:IBRX)’s stock price was up 8.3% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $8.43 and last traded at $8.4350. 6,283,108 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 76% from the average daily volume of 26,390,656 shares. The stock had previously closed at $7.79.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on IBRX. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $12.00 target price (up from $7.00) on shares of ImmunityBio in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $15.00 price target on shares of ImmunityBio in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $12.00 price objective on shares of ImmunityBio in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of ImmunityBio in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, D. Boral Capital restated a “buy” rating and set a $23.00 price objective on shares of ImmunityBio in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, ImmunityBio has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $14.20.

ImmunityBio Price Performance

The company has a fifty day moving average of $7.58 and a 200-day moving average of $6.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.12 billion, a PE ratio of -10.25 and a beta of 0.03.

ImmunityBio (NASDAQ:IBRX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported ($0.62) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.08) by ($0.54). The business had revenue of $44.21 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $43.07 million. Equities analysts anticipate that ImmunityBio, Inc. will post -0.31 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Barry J. Simon sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.88, for a total value of $197,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 2,802,788 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,085,969.44. The trade was a 0.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 66.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ImmunityBio

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in IBRX. Heights Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in ImmunityBio in the third quarter valued at approximately $16,152,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of ImmunityBio by 26.8% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 27,655,205 shares of the company’s stock worth $68,032,000 after purchasing an additional 5,837,898 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of ImmunityBio by 45.4% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 16,455,703 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,582,000 after purchasing an additional 5,139,890 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of ImmunityBio by 439.4% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 6,152,684 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,182,000 after purchasing an additional 5,012,001 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SEB Asset Management AB acquired a new stake in shares of ImmunityBio in the 1st quarter valued at $18,770,000. Institutional investors own 8.58% of the company’s stock.

About ImmunityBio

ImmunityBio, Inc is a clinical-stage biotechnology company specializing in the development of novel immunotherapies for cancer and infectious diseases. The company’s research platform centers on harnessing the power of the human immune system—through engineered T cells, natural killer (NK) cells, cytokine superagonists and viral-vectored vaccines—to target and eliminate diseased cells across a range of indications.

Among its lead assets is Anktiva (formerly known as N-803), an interleukin-15 superagonist designed to stimulate NK and T cell activity.