ImmunityBio’s (IBRX) Buy Rating Reiterated at HC Wainwright

HC Wainwright reiterated their buy rating on shares of ImmunityBio (NASDAQ:IBRX) in a research report sent to investors on Thursday, Marketbeat.com reports. HC Wainwright currently has a $15.00 price objective on the stock. HC Wainwright also issued estimates for ImmunityBio’s FY2027 earnings at $0.10 EPS.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of ImmunityBio in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $16.00 price target on shares of ImmunityBio in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of ImmunityBio from $12.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $16.00.

ImmunityBio Stock Down 8.2%

Shares of IBRX opened at $9.18 on Thursday. ImmunityBio has a 12-month low of $1.95 and a 12-month high of $12.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.46 and a beta of 0.02. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $8.57 and its 200 day moving average price is $7.96.

ImmunityBio (NASDAQ:IBRX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported ($0.22) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.08) by ($0.14). The business had revenue of $51.24 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $49.70 million. Equities research analysts expect that ImmunityBio will post -0.44 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at ImmunityBio

In related news, Director Cheryl Cohen sold 81,056 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.50, for a total value of $851,088.00. Following the sale, the director owned 100,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,053,244.50. The trade was a 44.69% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Barry J. Simon sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.75, for a total value of $268,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 2,777,788 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,861,221. This represents a 0.89% decrease in their position. 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. 66.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BlackRock Inc. increased its position in ImmunityBio by 29.4% in the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 34,083,262 shares of the company’s stock worth $298,399,000 after purchasing an additional 7,736,819 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its holdings in ImmunityBio by 20.8% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 21,398,438 shares of the company’s stock worth $187,343,000 after purchasing an additional 3,690,335 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in ImmunityBio during the 2nd quarter worth about $19,125,000. SEB Asset Management AB bought a new stake in ImmunityBio during the 1st quarter worth about $18,770,000. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its position in ImmunityBio by 923.5% during the 1st quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 1,648,556 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,644,000 after purchasing an additional 1,487,482 shares during the period. 8.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

ImmunityBio News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting ImmunityBio this week:

• Positive Sentiment: FDA expands ANKTIVA’s label: The FDA approved ANKTIVA in combination with BCG for patients with BCG-unresponsive non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) with papillary-only tumors, in addition to the previously covered carcinoma-in-situ population. The broader label significantly increases the drug’s addressable market and commercial potential. FDA Expands ANKTIVA Approval article
• Positive Sentiment: Durable Phase 2/3 results support ANKTIVA: Long-term QUILT-3.032 data showed a 71% complete response rate in 100 patients, median response duration of 26.6 months, and responses lasting beyond 53 months. Among responding patients, three-year cystectomy-free survival was 84%, suggesting many may avoid bladder-removal surgery. ImmunityBio Phase 3 data article
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support remains favorable: HC Wainwright reaffirmed its Buy rating and raised its FY2027 EPS estimate to $0.10 from $0.07, while maintaining a $15 price target. Jefferies also reportedly lifted its target to $14, indicating analysts see additional upside if ANKTIVA adoption accelerates.
• Neutral Sentiment: Options activity turned unusually active: Traders purchased 26,656 call options, approximately 44% above average volume. This may reflect increased bullish speculation, but it does not guarantee sustained buying in the shares.
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain cautious despite the clinical breakthrough: IBRX declined as traders appeared to take profits following the FDA-related rally and evaluate whether the expanded approval and strong data can translate into rapid sales growth. The company remains loss-making, and its latest reported quarter missed the consensus EPS estimate.

ImmunityBio Company Profile

ImmunityBio, Inc is a biotechnology company focused on developing and commercializing immunotherapies designed to activate and strengthen the body’s immune system against cancer and infectious diseases. The company combines cytokine-based therapies, vaccines, cellular therapies and other immune-modulating technologies in an effort to create durable treatment responses.

Its lead product, ANKTIVA (nogapendekin alfa inbakicept-pmln), is an interleukin-15 receptor agonist immune stimulator.