ImmunityBio's (IBRX) Buy Rating Reaffirmed at HC Wainwright

Key Points

• HC Wainwright reaffirmed its Buy rating on ImmunityBio and set a $15 price target, implying approximately 51% upside from the referenced $9.91 share price. Analysts overall give the stock a “Moderate Buy” consensus with a $16 average target.
• ImmunityBio reported a quarterly loss of $0.22 per share, missing the $0.08 consensus loss estimate, although revenue of $51.24 million exceeded expectations of $49.70 million.
• Directors Cheryl Cohen and Barry Simon sold shares under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans, while insiders collectively own 66.10% of the company; institutional investors own 8.58%.

ImmunityBio (NASDAQ:IBRX - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy" rating restated by stock analysts at HC Wainwright in a report issued on Thursday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have a $15.00 target price on the stock. HC Wainwright's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 51.36% from the stock's previous close.

IBRX has been the topic of a number of other reports. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of ImmunityBio in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $16.00 price target on shares of ImmunityBio in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $14.00 price target on shares of ImmunityBio in a research note on Wednesday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, ImmunityBio presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $16.00.

ImmunityBio Price Performance

ImmunityBio stock opened at $9.91 on Thursday. ImmunityBio has a 1-year low of $1.95 and a 1-year high of $12.43. The company has a market cap of $10.50 billion, a PE ratio of -10.22 and a beta of 0.02. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $8.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $7.94.

ImmunityBio (NASDAQ:IBRX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported ($0.22) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.08) by ($0.14). The company had revenue of $51.24 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $49.70 million. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that ImmunityBio will post -0.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other ImmunityBio 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 transaction of $851,088.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 100,309 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,053,244.50. The trade was a 44.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Barry Simon sold 25,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, October 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.75, for a total value of $268,750.00. Following the sale, the director owned 2,777,788 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,861,221. The trade was a 0.89% 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. 66.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of ImmunityBio

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Sigma Planning Corp lifted its position in shares of ImmunityBio by 7.3% in the second quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 19,015 shares of the company's stock valued at $166,000 after acquiring an additional 1,300 shares in the last quarter. Archer Investment Corp lifted its position in shares of ImmunityBio by 67.1% in the first quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 5,872 shares of the company's stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 2,358 shares in the last quarter. Winning Points Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of ImmunityBio by 0.4% in the second quarter. Winning Points Advisors LLC now owns 726,258 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,287,000 after acquiring an additional 2,685 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of ImmunityBio by 262.2% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,807 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 2,756 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of ImmunityBio by 18.3% in the first 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. 8.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about ImmunityBio

Here are the key news stories impacting ImmunityBio this week:

• Positive Sentiment: The FDA expanded ANKTIVA’s approved use, in combination with BCG, to include patients with BCG-unresponsive non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) whose tumors are papillary-only. The broader label adds to the drug’s addressable patient population beyond its existing coverage of carcinoma in situ (CIS) disease and could support additional commercial revenue. FDA Expands ANKTIVA Approval
• Positive Sentiment: The FDA decision came months ahead of the expected deadline, reducing regulatory uncertainty and allowing ImmunityBio to pursue the expanded market opportunity sooner. The approval expansion is the primary catalyst behind the stock’s recent strength. ImmunityBio Stock Climbs Thursday
• Positive Sentiment: HC Wainwright reaffirmed its “Buy” rating and assigned a $15 price target, implying substantial upside from the stock’s referenced $9.91 level. The reaffirmation provides additional investor confidence following the FDA announcement.
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports indicate that funds have increased their positions or bullish bets on IBRX, while Johnson & Johnson remains “on the lookout” for potential deals. However, no transaction involving ImmunityBio was announced, so this is speculative rather than a confirmed acquisition catalyst. Funds Raise Bets and J&J Deal Outlook

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.