Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on ImmunityBio (NASDAQ:IBRX)

ImmunityBio, Inc. (NASDAQ:IBRX - Get Free Report) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Stock investors bought 6,205 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 42% compared to the average daily volume of 4,357 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on IBRX shares. Piper Sandler raised shares of ImmunityBio from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $4.25 to $5.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. D. Boral Capital reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $30.00 price objective on shares of ImmunityBio in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $8.00 price objective on shares of ImmunityBio in a research note on Wednesday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $12.25.

ImmunityBio Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of IBRX stock traded down $0.04 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $2.90. 5,276,456 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,714,516. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $2.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $3.07. The stock has a market cap of $2.56 billion, a PE ratio of -3.15 and a beta of 0.14. ImmunityBio has a 12 month low of $1.83 and a 12 month high of $7.63.

ImmunityBio (NASDAQ:IBRX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 12th. The company reported ($0.15) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.12) by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $16.52 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $17.50 million. As a group, equities research analysts expect that ImmunityBio will post -0.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ImmunityBio

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of IBRX. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of ImmunityBio by 10.3% during the fourth quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 147,754 shares of the company's stock worth $378,000 after buying an additional 13,788 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR acquired a new stake in shares of ImmunityBio during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its position in shares of ImmunityBio by 62.8% during the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 32,418 shares of the company's stock worth $83,000 after buying an additional 12,500 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its position in shares of ImmunityBio by 71.2% during the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 92,300 shares of the company's stock worth $236,000 after buying an additional 38,400 shares during the period. Finally, Crestwood Advisors Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of ImmunityBio during the fourth quarter worth $41,000. 8.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

ImmunityBio Company Profile

ImmunityBio, Inc, a clinical-stage biotechnology company, engages in developing therapies and vaccines that bolster the natural immune system to defeat cancers and infectious diseases. Its platforms for the development of biologic product candidates include antibody-cytokine fusion proteins; DNA, RNA, and recombinant protein vaccines; and cell therapies.