ImmunityBio (NASDAQ:IBRX) Shares Gap Down - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Shares gapped down — IBRX opened at $9.45 after a $10.00 close and was last at $9.27 on heavy volume of 13,343,160 shares, a decline of about 9.6%.
• Analysts remain mostly bullish — six firms have Buy ratings vs. one Sell, giving a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $13.60 after multiple recent price-target increases.
• Significant insider selling despite large insider ownership — insiders sold 501,967 shares (~$4.47M) in the past three months (notably 75,000 shares by Director Barry J. Simon), though insiders still hold 69.48% of the company.

ImmunityBio, Inc. (NASDAQ:IBRX - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $10.00, but opened at $9.45. ImmunityBio shares last traded at $9.27, with a volume of 13,343,160 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

IBRX has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on ImmunityBio from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. BTIG Research upped their target price on shares of ImmunityBio from $6.00 to $9.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $12.00 price objective (up from $7.00) on shares of ImmunityBio in a research report on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of ImmunityBio in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, D. Boral Capital reissued a "buy" rating and set a $23.00 price target on shares of ImmunityBio in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $13.60.

ImmunityBio Stock Down 9.6%

The stock's 50 day moving average is $5.59 and its 200-day moving average is $3.49. The company has a market cap of $9.29 billion, a PE ratio of -23.79 and a beta of -0.03.

ImmunityBio (NASDAQ:IBRX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, March 2nd. The company reported ($0.06) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.08) by $0.02. The business had revenue of $38.29 million during the quarter. On average, analysts anticipate that ImmunityBio, Inc. will post -0.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at ImmunityBio

In other news, Director Barry J. Simon sold 75,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.01, for a total value of $900,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 2,850,821 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,238,360.21. This trade represents a 2.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Christobel Selecky sold 25,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.00, for a total transaction of $250,000.00. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 501,967 shares of company stock worth $4,466,412. Insiders own 69.48% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ImmunityBio

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of IBRX. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ lifted its position in shares of ImmunityBio by 347.7% during the third quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 1,324,871 shares of the company's stock worth $3,246,000 after purchasing an additional 1,028,921 shares during the last quarter. Armistice Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of ImmunityBio in the second quarter worth about $20,497,000. AlphaCore Capital LLC bought a new stake in ImmunityBio during the 2nd quarter valued at about $7,854,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in ImmunityBio by 34.7% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,777,269 shares of the company's stock valued at $15,254,000 after buying an additional 1,487,849 shares during the period. Finally, AXQ Capital LP boosted its position in ImmunityBio by 263.4% in the 3rd quarter. AXQ Capital LP now owns 71,300 shares of the company's stock valued at $175,000 after buying an additional 51,678 shares during the period. 8.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ImmunityBio Company Profile

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.

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