ImmunityBio (NASDAQ:IBRX) Trading Down 3.2% - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Shares fell 3.2% to $8.67 on Friday with ~22.7M shares trading (about 48% below average); the stock has a market cap of ~$8.9B and recent 50-/200-day moving averages of $5.87 and $3.57, respectively.
• Analyst sentiment is mostly positive: six Buys and one Sell give a consensus "Moderate Buy" rating and a street target of $13.60, with several firms having raised price targets up to $15.
• Significant insider selling has occurred recently — insiders sold 501,967 shares worth ~$4.47M in the last 90 days, despite insiders owning 69.48% of the company.

ImmunityBio, Inc. (NASDAQ:IBRX - Get Free Report) traded down 3.2% on Friday . The company traded as low as $8.50 and last traded at $8.67. 22,657,335 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 48% from the average session volume of 43,699,633 shares. The stock had previously closed at $8.96.

Analyst Ratings Changes

IBRX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (e+)" rating on shares of ImmunityBio in a research note on Monday, December 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of ImmunityBio in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of ImmunityBio from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $12.00 price target (up from $7.00) on shares of ImmunityBio in a report on Wednesday. Finally, HC Wainwright boosted their price target on shares of ImmunityBio from $10.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, ImmunityBio currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $13.60.

ImmunityBio Trading Down 3.2%

The firm's 50-day moving average price is $5.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $3.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.91 billion, a PE ratio of -22.82 and a beta of -0.03.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at ImmunityBio

In related news, Director Barry J. Simon sold 75,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.01, for a total value of $900,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 2,850,821 shares in the company, valued at $34,238,360.21. This trade represents a 2.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Christobel Selecky sold 25,000 shares of ImmunityBio stock in a transaction on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.00, for a total transaction of $250,000.00. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 501,967 shares of company stock worth $4,466,412 in the last 90 days. 69.48% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ImmunityBio

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Slow Capital Inc. bought a new stake in ImmunityBio in the third quarter worth about $25,000. Envision Financial Planning LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ImmunityBio in the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. Summit X LLC bought a new stake in shares of ImmunityBio during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Diversify Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in ImmunityBio during the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Truist Financial Corp purchased a new position in ImmunityBio during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. 8.58% of the stock is 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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