ImmunityBio (NASDAQ:IBRX) Shares Climb 5.1% – Time to Buy?

ImmunityBio, Inc. (NASDAQ:IBRX) was up 5.1% on Monday. The stock traded as high as $8.98 and last traded at $8.8740. Approximately 4,527,693 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 78% from the average daily volume of 20,797,570 shares. The stock had previously closed at $8.44.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on IBRX. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of ImmunityBio in a research note on Friday, July 10th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $15.00 price target on shares of ImmunityBio in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $14.20.

ImmunityBio Stock Up 0.9%

The firm has a market capitalization of $9.02 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.74 and a beta of 0.04. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $7.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $7.80.

ImmunityBio (NASDAQ:IBRX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported ($0.22) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.08) by ($0.14). The firm had revenue of $51.24 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $49.70 million. Sell-side analysts predict that ImmunityBio, Inc. will post -0.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at ImmunityBio

In other ImmunityBio news, Director Cheryl Cohen sold 131,210 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.50, for a total transaction of $1,246,495.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 125,386 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,191,167. This represents a 51.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Christobel Selecky sold 159,478 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.02, for a total transaction of $1,438,491.56. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 35,064 shares in the company, valued at approximately $316,277.28. This trade represents a 81.98% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 291,688 shares of company stock worth $2,693,987 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 66.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Sigma Planning Corp lifted its holdings in shares of ImmunityBio by 7.3% during the second quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 19,015 shares of the company’s stock valued at $166,000 after purchasing an additional 1,300 shares during the last quarter. Archer Investment Corp raised its holdings in ImmunityBio by 67.1% in the first quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 5,872 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 2,358 shares during the last quarter. Winning Points Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of ImmunityBio by 0.4% during the second quarter. Winning Points Advisors LLC now owns 726,258 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,287,000 after buying an additional 2,685 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in ImmunityBio by 18.3% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 19,710 shares of the company’s stock valued at $151,000 after acquiring an additional 3,050 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Markowski Investments purchased a new position in shares of ImmunityBio in the second quarter worth $29,000. 8.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ImmunityBio Company Profile

ImmunityBio, Inc is a biotechnology company focused on developing and commercializing immunotherapies and other treatments designed to activate the immune system against cancer and infectious diseases. The company’s platform combines biologics, cell therapies, vaccines and other approaches intended to generate durable immune responses.

Its lead product, ANKTIVA (nogapendekin alfa inbakicept-pmln), is an interleukin-15 receptor agonist designed to stimulate natural killer cells and T cells.