Lyell Immunopharma, Inc. (NASDAQ:LYEL) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" from Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts have a consensus recommendation of Hold on LYEL from five firms (two sell, three buy), with an average 1-year price target of $41.00.
• Lyell reported a large quarterly earnings miss (EPS of ($7.68) vs. estimates of ($2.15)), extremely negative profitability metrics and only $0.01M in revenue, while shares trade around $23.85 with a 52-week range of $7.65–$45.00.
• Company insiders (including the CEO and COO) have been selling shares recently—11,310 shares sold in the last 90 days—though institutional ownership is high (66.05%) and firms like AQR have substantially increased positions.

Shares of Lyell Immunopharma, Inc. (NASDAQ:LYEL - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the five ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $41.00.

LYEL has been the topic of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Lyell Immunopharma in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Zacks Research downgraded Lyell Immunopharma from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen downgraded Lyell Immunopharma from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 28th. Needham & Company LLC initiated coverage on Lyell Immunopharma in a research note on Friday. They issued a "buy" rating and a $44.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Citizens Jmp initiated coverage on Lyell Immunopharma in a research note on Monday, March 9th. They issued a "market outperform" rating and a $34.00 price target on the stock.

Lyell Immunopharma Stock Performance

LYEL stock opened at $23.85 on Friday. Lyell Immunopharma has a fifty-two week low of $7.65 and a fifty-two week high of $45.00. The business's 50 day moving average price is $22.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $22.59. The company has a market capitalization of $556.42 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.46 and a beta of -0.06.

Lyell Immunopharma (NASDAQ:LYEL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $0.01 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $0.02 million. Sell-side analysts forecast that Lyell Immunopharma will post -0.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Stephen J. Hill sold 1,236 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.39, for a total value of $28,910.04. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 17,795 shares in the company, valued at $416,225.05. This represents a 6.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Lynn Seely sold 7,455 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.39, for a total value of $174,372.45. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 74,266 shares in the company, valued at $1,737,081.74. The trade was a 9.12% 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 worth $264,285 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 22.30% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lyell Immunopharma

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Lyell Immunopharma by 773.5% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 174,279 shares of the company's stock valued at $94,000 after acquiring an additional 154,327 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new position in Lyell Immunopharma in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $94,000. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Lyell Immunopharma in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $159,000. BBR Partners LLC bought a new position in Lyell Immunopharma in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $210,000. Finally, Walleye Capital LLC bought a new position in Lyell Immunopharma in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $258,000. 66.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Lyell Immunopharma

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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