ImmunityBio Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NASDAQ:IBRX)

Key Points

• Unusually large options trading: Investors bought 25,953 call options on Friday, roughly a 46% increase over the average daily volume of 17,825 calls.
• Insider selling: Director Barry J. Simon sold 151,967 shares at an average $7.20 (and Director Christobel Selecky sold 50,000 at $5), with insiders selling 226,967 shares in the quarter even though insiders still own 69.48% of the company.
• Analysts mostly bullish but stock below target: Five analysts rate IBRX a Buy versus one Sell with a consensus target of $11.80, while the stock traded at $6.49 (down 1.9%) and has a 52‑week high of $8.28.

ImmunityBio, Inc. (NASDAQ:IBRX - Get Free Report) saw unusually large options trading on Friday. Investors purchased 25,953 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 46% compared to the average daily volume of 17,825 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Barry J. Simon sold 151,967 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.20, for a total value of $1,094,162.40. Following the sale, the director owned 3,091,604 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $22,259,548.80. The trade was a 4.69% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Christobel Selecky sold 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.00, for a total value of $250,000.00. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 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 Investors Weigh In On ImmunityBio

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of IBRX. Slow Capital Inc. bought a new stake in ImmunityBio in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Truist Financial Corp acquired a new stake in ImmunityBio in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd acquired a new position in ImmunityBio in the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC bought a new position in ImmunityBio in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Diversify Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of ImmunityBio during the second quarter worth $27,000. Institutional investors own 8.58% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

IBRX has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. HC Wainwright upped their price objective on shares of ImmunityBio from $8.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. D. Boral Capital reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $24.00 price objective on shares of ImmunityBio in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. BTIG Research boosted their target price on ImmunityBio from $6.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (e+)" rating on shares of ImmunityBio in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target 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. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $11.80.

ImmunityBio Stock Down 1.9%

IBRX stock traded down $0.13 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $6.49. The company's stock had a trading volume of 15,597,660 shares, compared to its average volume of 41,245,883. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $3.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $2.91. ImmunityBio has a 52 week low of $1.83 and a 52 week high of $8.28. The stock has a market cap of $6.40 billion, a PE ratio of -15.83 and a beta of 0.16.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.