ImmunityBio (NASDAQ:IBRX) Trading Up 3% – Here’s What Happened
by Tristan Rich · The Markets DailyShares of ImmunityBio, Inc. (NASDAQ:IBRX – Get Free Report) shot up 3% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $8.87 and last traded at $8.82. 17,718,683 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 56% from the average session volume of 40,029,141 shares. The stock had previously closed at $8.56.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on IBRX shares. HC Wainwright raised their price objective on shares of ImmunityBio from $10.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. D. Boral Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $23.00 target price on shares of ImmunityBio in a report on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of ImmunityBio from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of ImmunityBio in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, BTIG Research initiated coverage on ImmunityBio in a report on Thursday, March 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $13.00 price objective on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, ImmunityBio presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $14.40.
Get Our Latest Analysis on ImmunityBio
ImmunityBio Stock Up 3.0%
The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $6.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $3.95. The company has a market cap of $9.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -23.21 and a beta of -0.03.
ImmunityBio (NASDAQ:IBRX – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 2nd. The company reported ($0.06) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.08) by $0.02. The company had revenue of $38.29 million for the quarter. On average, sell-side analysts expect that ImmunityBio, Inc. will post -0.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Insider Buying and Selling
In related news, Director Christobel Selecky sold 50,000 shares of ImmunityBio stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.00, for a total value of $250,000.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Barry J. Simon sold 165,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.25, for a total value of $1,691,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 2,925,821 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,989,665.25. The trade was a 5.34% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 501,967 shares of company stock valued at $4,466,412 in the last ninety days. 69.48% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On ImmunityBio
Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 29,297 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its stake in ImmunityBio by 21.4% during the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 80,128 shares of the company’s stock worth $212,000 after purchasing an additional 14,105 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of ImmunityBio by 1,104.4% during the second quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 13,815 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 12,668 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of ImmunityBio by 34.7% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,777,269 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,254,000 after purchasing an additional 1,487,849 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey boosted its stake in shares of ImmunityBio by 48.0% in the second quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 53,754 shares of the company’s stock valued at $142,000 after purchasing an additional 17,443 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.