Lyell Immunopharma (NASDAQ:LYEL) Upgraded by Robert W. Baird to Strong-Buy Rating

Key Points

• Robert W. Baird upgraded Lyell Immunopharma (NASDAQ:LYEL) to a Strong-Buy, while analyst coverage remains mixed and the consensus rating is a Moderate Buy with a $43.00 consensus price target.
• Shares jumped about 5.6% after the news; LYEL opened at $20.83 with a 12‑month range of $7.65–$45.00 and a market cap near $486 million, but the company reported a large quarterly earnings miss and deeply negative EPS and margins.
• Company insiders (including the CEO and COO) have recently sold stock, totaling 11,310 shares in the last 90 days, while institutional players like GSK, MWG and ARCH have built sizable positions—institutions own about 66% of the stock and insiders about 22%.

Lyell Immunopharma (NASDAQ:LYEL - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at Robert W. Baird to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note issued on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

LYEL has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Lyell Immunopharma from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday. Zacks Research cut 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 issued a "market outperform" rating and a $34.00 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Lyell Immunopharma in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC began coverage on shares of Lyell Immunopharma in a research note on Friday, April 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $44.00 target price for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $43.00.

Lyell Immunopharma Stock Up 5.6%

NASDAQ:LYEL opened at $20.83 on Thursday. Lyell Immunopharma has a 12-month low of $7.65 and a 12-month high of $45.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $485.96 million, a PE ratio of -1.28 and a beta of -0.05. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $22.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $23.35.

Lyell Immunopharma (NASDAQ:LYEL - Get Free Report) last announced 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 company had revenue of $0.01 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $0.02 million. On average, research analysts expect that Lyell Immunopharma will post -10.45 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Stephen J. Hill sold 1,236 shares of Lyell Immunopharma stock in a transaction on 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Lynn Seely sold 7,455 shares of Lyell Immunopharma 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 11,310 shares of company stock worth $264,285 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 22.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Lyell Immunopharma

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LYEL. GSK plc bought a new stake in shares of Lyell Immunopharma in the 4th quarter worth $46,560,000. MWG Caph Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Lyell Immunopharma in the 4th quarter worth about $31,030,000. ARCH Venture Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lyell Immunopharma by 51.5% in the 3rd quarter. ARCH Venture Management LLC now owns 2,759,072 shares of the company's stock worth $44,807,000 after buying an additional 938,438 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lyell Immunopharma by 204.2% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 660,899 shares of the company's stock worth $354,000 after buying an additional 443,614 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Lyell Immunopharma by 76.0% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 779,004 shares of the company's stock worth $12,651,000 after buying an additional 336,378 shares during the last quarter. 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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