Lyell Immunopharma, Inc. (NASDAQ:LYEL) Receives Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Analyst consensus: Six analysts give LYEL an average rating of "Moderate Buy" (2 sell, 3 buy, 1 strong buy) with a one‑year average price target of $43.00.
• Weak quarterly results: The company reported an EPS loss of $7.68 (versus a $2.15 expected loss), negligible revenue and deeply negative profitability, and analysts project about -$10.45 EPS for the year.
• Insider selling and institutional stakes: Insiders sold roughly 11,310 shares (~$264k) last quarter while hedge funds and other institutions own about 66% of the stock, with several firms recently adding positions.

Shares of Lyell Immunopharma, Inc. (NASDAQ:LYEL - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the six ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $43.00.

LYEL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Zacks Research cut Lyell Immunopharma from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Needham & Company LLC initiated coverage on Lyell Immunopharma in a research report on Friday, April 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $44.00 price objective for the company. Wall Street Zen cut Lyell Immunopharma from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday. Citizens Jmp initiated coverage on Lyell Immunopharma in a research report on Monday, March 9th. They set a "market outperform" rating and a $34.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Lyell Immunopharma in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st.

Lyell Immunopharma Trading Down 0.5%

Lyell Immunopharma stock opened at $20.72 on Tuesday. Lyell Immunopharma has a twelve month low of $7.65 and a twelve month high of $45.00. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $22.30 and a two-hundred day moving average of $23.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $483.40 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.27 and a beta of -0.05.

Lyell Immunopharma (NASDAQ:LYEL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 12th. The company reported ($7.68) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($2.15) by ($5.53). Lyell Immunopharma had a negative return on equity of 90.52% and a negative net margin of 762,355.56%.The company had revenue of $0.01 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $0.02 million. Equities analysts predict that Lyell Immunopharma will post -10.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Lynn Seely sold 7,455 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.39, for a total transaction of $174,372.45. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 74,266 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,737,081.74. This represents a 9.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Stephen J. Hill sold 1,236 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.39, for a total transaction of $28,910.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 17,795 shares of the company's stock, valued at $416,225.05. This represents a 6.49% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 11,310 shares of company stock valued at $264,285 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 6.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LYEL. BBR Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lyell Immunopharma during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $210,000. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Lyell Immunopharma in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $262,000. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in Lyell Immunopharma in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $94,000. Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new position in Lyell Immunopharma during the fourth quarter worth $382,000. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its position in Lyell Immunopharma by 1,239.5% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 15,967 shares of the company's stock worth $491,000 after purchasing an additional 14,775 shares in the last quarter. 66.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lyell Immunopharma Company Profile

Lyell Immunopharma is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing next-generation T cell therapies for cancer. Leveraging a proprietary platform that combines cell therapy, gene editing and molecular discovery, Lyell seeks to overcome key barriers in the treatment of solid tumors. The company's approach centers on engineering T cells to enhance their persistence, functionality and resistance to the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment.

The company's pipeline includes multiple autologous T cell programs engineered to target tumor-associated antigens in solid malignancies such as melanoma, ovarian and pancreatic cancers.

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