Lyell Immunopharma's (LYEL) Buy Rating Reiterated at Needham & Company LLC

Key Points

• Needham reaffirmed a “Buy” rating on Lyell Immunopharma with a $44 price target, implying 260.66% upside from the prior close. The analyst consensus is “Moderate Buy,” with an average target of $40.86.
• Lyell reported quarterly earnings of -$1.92 per share, slightly beating the $1.94 loss estimate, but generated no revenue and continues to face substantial losses.
• Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.05% of the stock, while shares recently opened at $12.20—near the lower end of their $11.47–$45.00 52-week range.

Lyell Immunopharma (NASDAQ:LYEL - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy" rating reaffirmed by equities researchers at Needham & Company LLC in a report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $44.00 price objective on the stock. Needham & Company LLC's target price would indicate a potential upside of 260.66% from the stock's previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Citigroup reiterated a "market outperform" rating on shares of Lyell Immunopharma in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $34.00 price objective on shares of Lyell Immunopharma in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage on Lyell Immunopharma in a report on Thursday, August 6th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $36.00 price objective for the company. Citizens Jmp reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and issued a $34.00 target price on shares of Lyell Immunopharma in a research report on Monday, June 15th. Finally, HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of Lyell Immunopharma in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $40.86.

Lyell Immunopharma Stock Performance

NASDAQ LYEL opened at $12.20 on Friday. Lyell Immunopharma has a 52 week low of $11.47 and a 52 week high of $45.00. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $14.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $17.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $298.90 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.95 and a beta of -0.04.

Lyell Immunopharma (NASDAQ:LYEL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported ($1.92) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.94) by $0.02. Lyell Immunopharma had a negative net margin of 920,285.25% and a negative return on equity of 91.62%. The company had revenue of $0.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $0.00 million. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Lyell Immunopharma will post -7.2 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Lyell Immunopharma

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LYEL. ARCH Venture Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lyell Immunopharma by 51.5% in the third quarter. ARCH Venture Management LLC now owns 2,759,072 shares of the company's stock valued at $44,807,000 after purchasing an additional 938,438 shares during the last quarter. GSK plc acquired a new stake in Lyell Immunopharma in the 4th quarter worth about $46,560,000. MWG Caph Ltd acquired a new stake in Lyell Immunopharma in the 4th quarter worth about $31,030,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Lyell Immunopharma by 76.0% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 779,004 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,651,000 after purchasing an additional 336,378 shares during the period. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Lyell Immunopharma by 204.2% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 660,899 shares of the company's stock valued at $354,000 after purchasing an additional 443,614 shares during the period. 66.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lyell Immunopharma Company Profile

Lyell Immunopharma is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing next-generation T cell therapies for cancer. Leveraging a proprietary platform that combines cell therapy, gene editing and molecular discovery, Lyell seeks to overcome key barriers in the treatment of solid tumors. The company's approach centers on engineering T cells to enhance their persistence, functionality and resistance to the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment.

The company's pipeline includes multiple autologous T cell programs engineered to target tumor-associated antigens in solid malignancies such as melanoma, ovarian and pancreatic cancers.

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