Lyell Immunopharma (NASDAQ:LYEL) Shares Gap Down - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Shares gapped down — LYEL opened at $23.24 after a prior close of $24.78 and was last trading around $23.15 on light volume (3,350 shares), reflecting negative market reaction.
• Large earnings miss — Lyell reported a massive EPS loss of ($7.68) versus consensus ($2.15) with only $0.01M in revenue, leaving the company with extremely negative margins and analysts projecting about ($10.45) EPS for the fiscal year.
• Mixed analyst and institutional backdrop — Coverage is split (three Buys, two Sells) with a MarketBeat consensus of Hold and a $41.00 target, while institutional investors own roughly 66% of the stock and several firms added new positions.

Lyell Immunopharma, Inc. (NASDAQ:LYEL - Get Free Report) gapped down before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $24.78, but opened at $23.24. Lyell Immunopharma shares last traded at $23.1450, with a volume of 3,350 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LYEL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC initiated coverage on shares of Lyell Immunopharma in a research note on Friday, April 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $44.00 price objective for the company. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Lyell Immunopharma from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Citizens Jmp initiated coverage on shares of Lyell Immunopharma in a research note on Monday, March 9th. They set a "market outperform" rating and a $34.00 price objective for the company. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Lyell Immunopharma from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Lyell Immunopharma in a research note on Tuesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $41.00.

Lyell Immunopharma Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $540.56 million, a PE ratio of -1.42 and a beta of -0.06. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $22.63 and a 200-day moving average price of $23.23.

Lyell Immunopharma (NASDAQ:LYEL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 12th. The company reported ($7.68) earnings per share (EPS) 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. As a group, equities analysts predict that Lyell Immunopharma, Inc. will post -10.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Lyell Immunopharma

In other news, COO Stephen J. Hill sold 1,236 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.39, for a total transaction of $28,910.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 17,795 shares in the company, valued at approximately $416,225.05. The trade was a 6.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Gary K. Lee sold 1,671 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.39, for a total value of $39,084.69. Following the sale, the insider owned 16,938 shares of the company's stock, valued at $396,179.82. The trade was a 8.98% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 11,310 shares of company stock worth $264,285. 22.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lyell Immunopharma

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Invesco Ltd. purchased a new position in Lyell Immunopharma in the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,036,000. MWG Caph Ltd purchased a new position in Lyell Immunopharma in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,030,000. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Lyell Immunopharma in the 4th quarter worth approximately $262,000. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in Lyell Immunopharma by 1,239.5% in the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 15,967 shares of the company's stock worth $491,000 after acquiring an additional 14,775 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in Lyell Immunopharma in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,257,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.05% of the company's stock.

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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