Lyell Immunopharma, Inc. (NASDAQ:LYEL) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Key Points

• Short interest rose 21.1% in March to 1,138,296 shares (about 6.3% of the float), leaving a days-to-cover ratio of 12.8 based on average daily volume.
• Lyell reported a large earnings miss with Q1 EPS of -$7.68 vs. consensus -$2.15, negligible revenue and extremely negative margins, and analysts expect about -$0.78 EPS for the current year.
• Analyst views are mixed—MarketBeat shows an average rating of "Hold" and a $41 price target amid recent downgrades and buys—while insiders have sold shares recently and institutional ownership is high at 66.05% (notably AQR increased its stake substantially).

Lyell Immunopharma, Inc. (NASDAQ:LYEL - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 1,138,296 shares, a growth of 21.1% from the March 15th total of 940,269 shares. Approximately 6.3% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 89,076 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 12.8 days.

Lyell Immunopharma Price Performance

Lyell Immunopharma stock opened at $23.70 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $552.92 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.45 and a beta of -0.06. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $22.59 and a two-hundred day moving average of $22.96. Lyell Immunopharma has a 1 year low of $7.65 and a 1 year high of $45.00.

Lyell Immunopharma (NASDAQ:LYEL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 12th. The company reported ($7.68) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($2.15) by ($5.53). The firm had revenue of $0.01 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $0.02 million. Lyell Immunopharma had a negative return on equity of 90.52% and a negative net margin of 762,355.56%. Research analysts expect that Lyell Immunopharma will post -0.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Lyell Immunopharma from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, March 28th. Citizens Jmp assumed coverage on shares of Lyell Immunopharma in a report on Monday, March 9th. They issued a "market outperform" rating and a $34.00 price target on the stock. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Lyell Immunopharma from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Needham & Company LLC assumed coverage on shares of Lyell Immunopharma in a report on Friday, April 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $44.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Lyell Immunopharma in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $41.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Lynn Seely sold 7,455 shares of the firm'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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 74,266 shares in the company, valued at $1,737,081.74. This trade represents a 9.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Gary K. Lee sold 1,671 shares of the firm'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 $39,084.69. Following the sale, the insider owned 16,938 shares in the company, valued at $396,179.82. The trade was a 8.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 11,310 shares of company stock worth $264,285 in the last three months. Company insiders own 22.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Lyell Immunopharma by 773.5% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 174,279 shares of the company's stock valued at $94,000 after purchasing an additional 154,327 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new position in Lyell Immunopharma during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $94,000. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Lyell Immunopharma during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $159,000. BBR Partners LLC acquired a new position in Lyell Immunopharma during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $210,000. Finally, Walleye Capital LLC acquired a new position in Lyell Immunopharma during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $258,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.05% of the company's stock.

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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