ImmunityBio (NASDAQ:IBRX) Shares Gap Down on Disappointing Earnings

ImmunityBio, Inc. (NASDAQ:IBRX) gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $7.15, but opened at $6.76. ImmunityBio shares last traded at $6.8960, with a volume of 3,828,408 shares changing hands.

The company reported ($0.22) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.08) by ($0.14). The firm had revenue of $51.24 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $49.70 million.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

IBRX has been the topic of several analyst reports. D. Boral Capital restated a “buy” rating and issued a $23.00 price target on shares of ImmunityBio in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $15.00 price objective on shares of ImmunityBio in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and issued a $12.00 target price on shares of ImmunityBio in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of ImmunityBio in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $14.20.

Insider Activity at ImmunityBio

In other ImmunityBio news, Director Barry J. Simon sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.88, for a total transaction of $197,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 2,802,788 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,085,969.44. This trade represents a 0.88% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Cheryl Cohen sold 131,210 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.50, for a total transaction of $1,246,495.00. Following the sale, the director owned 125,386 shares in the company, valued at $1,191,167. This trade represents a 51.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 435,443 shares of company stock worth $3,918,819 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 66.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ImmunityBio

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in ImmunityBio by 193.4% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 44,448 shares of the company’s stock valued at $134,000 after purchasing an additional 29,297 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning raised its stake in shares of ImmunityBio by 9.2% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 62,028 shares of the company’s stock worth $164,000 after buying an additional 5,231 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its stake in shares of ImmunityBio by 56.9% in the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 18,551 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 6,731 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of ImmunityBio by 5.2% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,071,736 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,829,000 after buying an additional 52,782 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in ImmunityBio by 11.8% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 205,478 shares of the company’s stock valued at $542,000 after buying an additional 21,715 shares in the last quarter. 8.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

ImmunityBio Stock Down 4.2%

The company has a 50 day moving average of $7.70 and a two-hundred day moving average of $7.59. The firm has a market cap of $7.17 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.09 and a beta of 0.03.

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.