ImmunityBio (NASDAQ:IBRX) Trading Down 5.3% - Here's Why

Key Points

• Shares of ImmunityBio were trading down 5.3% to about $6.56 with roughly 21.8 million shares changing hands, about 51% below the stock's average daily volume.
• Several brokerages have raised price targets (e.g., HC Wainwright to $10, BTIG to $9, Piper to $7) and the stock carries a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average target of $11.80.
• Company insiders sold a combined 226,967 shares (~$1.53M) in the last quarter, even as large institutions increased exposure—Vanguard boosted its stake by 18.5% to ~32.8M shares and Goldman bought an additional ~5.01M shares.

Shares of ImmunityBio, Inc. (NASDAQ:IBRX - Get Free Report) dropped 5.3% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $6.55 and last traded at $6.56. Approximately 21,815,904 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 51% from the average daily volume of 44,203,199 shares. The stock had previously closed at $6.93.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on IBRX. HC Wainwright upped their target price on shares of ImmunityBio from $8.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (e+)" rating on shares of ImmunityBio in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on ImmunityBio from $5.00 to $7.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. BTIG Research boosted their price target on ImmunityBio from $6.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on ImmunityBio from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $11.80.

ImmunityBio Price Performance

The business has a 50-day moving average of $3.61 and a 200 day moving average of $2.83. The company has a market cap of $6.46 billion, a PE ratio of -16.00 and a beta of 0.14.

Insider Activity at ImmunityBio

In related news, Director Barry J. Simon sold 151,967 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.20, for a total value of $1,094,162.40. Following the transaction, the director owned 3,091,604 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $22,259,548.80. This trade represents a 4.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Christobel Selecky sold 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.00, for a total transaction of $250,000.00. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 226,967 shares of company stock worth $1,531,912 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 69.48% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in ImmunityBio by 18.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 32,777,257 shares of the company's stock worth $64,899,000 after acquiring an additional 5,122,052 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of ImmunityBio by 15.0% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,920,178 shares of the company's stock worth $15,684,000 after purchasing an additional 1,030,113 shares during the period. Armistice Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of ImmunityBio during the 2nd quarter valued at $20,497,000. Heights Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of ImmunityBio during the 3rd quarter valued at $16,152,000. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of ImmunityBio by 439.4% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 6,152,684 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,182,000 after buying an additional 5,012,001 shares in the last quarter. 8.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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