Lyell Immunopharma (NASDAQ:LYEL) Stock Price Up 6.9% - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Shares jumped 6.9% to $23.94 on Monday, but the rise came on very light volume (≈7,687 shares vs. a 100,508 average), suggesting the move may lack conviction.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed — new buy coverage from Needham ($44 PT) and Citizens JMP ($34 PT) contrasts with downgrades from Zacks and Wall Street Zen, leaving a MarketBeat consensus of "Hold" and an average price target of $41.
• Lyell reported a severe quarterly EPS miss (‑$7.68 vs. est ‑$2.15) with negligible revenue and deeply negative margins, yet institutional investors (including a new ~$46.6M stake by GSK) now own about 66% of the stock while insiders have recently sold shares.

Lyell Immunopharma, Inc. (NASDAQ:LYEL - Get Free Report) shares rose 6.9% on Monday . The company traded as high as $24.06 and last traded at $23.94. Approximately 7,687 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 92% from the average daily volume of 100,508 shares. The stock had previously closed at $22.39.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LYEL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Citizens Jmp started 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 target for the company. Needham & Company LLC started coverage on shares of Lyell Immunopharma in a research note on Friday. They issued a "buy" rating and a $44.00 target price for the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Lyell Immunopharma from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 28th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Lyell Immunopharma from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Lyell Immunopharma in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $41.00.

Lyell Immunopharma Stock Up 9.0%

The company's fifty day moving average is $22.62 and its 200 day moving average is $22.78. The firm has a market cap of $569.25 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.50 and a beta of -0.06.

Lyell Immunopharma (NASDAQ:LYEL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 12th. The company reported ($7.68) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($2.15) by ($5.53). The firm had revenue of $0.01 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $0.02 million. Lyell Immunopharma had a negative net margin of 762,355.56% and a negative return on equity of 90.52%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Lyell Immunopharma, Inc. will post -0.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lyell Immunopharma news, COO Stephen J. Hill sold 1,236 shares of Lyell Immunopharma stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.39, for a total value of $28,910.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 17,795 shares in the company, valued at $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 is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Lynn Seely sold 7,455 shares of Lyell Immunopharma stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.39, for a total transaction of $174,372.45. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 74,266 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,737,081.74. This trade represents a 9.12% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 11,310 shares of company stock valued at $264,285. Company insiders own 22.30% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lyell Immunopharma

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. GSK plc bought a new stake in shares of Lyell Immunopharma during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $46,560,000. MWG Caph Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Lyell Immunopharma during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,030,000. ARCH Venture Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lyell Immunopharma by 51.5% during the 3rd quarter. ARCH Venture Management LLC now owns 2,759,072 shares of the company's stock valued at $44,807,000 after purchasing an additional 938,438 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Lyell Immunopharma by 204.2% during the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 660,899 shares of the company's stock worth $354,000 after acquiring an additional 443,614 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Lyell Immunopharma by 76.0% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 779,004 shares of the company's stock worth $12,651,000 after acquiring an additional 336,378 shares during the last quarter. 66.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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