ImmunityBio Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NASDAQ:IBRX)

Key Points

• ImmunityBio saw unusually heavy call-option activity, with 30,842 call options purchased—about 64% above its typical volume.
• Two directors sold a combined 290,688 shares for approximately $2.68 million under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plans; insiders have sold 291,688 shares worth $2.69 million over the past 90 days.
• The stock rose 0.8% to $8.51, while analysts maintained a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $14.20, despite the company missing its latest quarterly EPS estimate.

ImmunityBio, Inc. (NASDAQ:IBRX - Get Free Report) saw some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Investors purchased 30,842 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 64% compared to the typical volume of 18,768 call options.

Insider Activity

In other ImmunityBio news, Director Christobel Selecky sold 159,478 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.02, for a total value of $1,438,491.56. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 35,064 shares of the company's stock, valued at $316,277.28. This trade represents a 81.98% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Cheryl Cohen sold 131,210 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.50, for a total value of $1,246,495.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 125,386 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,191,167. This represents a 51.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 291,688 shares of company stock valued at $2,693,987. 66.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ImmunityBio

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of ImmunityBio by 52.4% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 27,659 shares of the company's stock valued at $242,000 after acquiring an additional 9,513 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of ImmunityBio by 20.8% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 21,398,438 shares of the company's stock worth $187,343,000 after purchasing an additional 3,690,335 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in shares of ImmunityBio by 27.5% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 243,678 shares of the company's stock worth $2,133,000 after purchasing an additional 52,581 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC acquired a new stake in ImmunityBio in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $2,207,000. Finally, Engineers Gate Manager LP increased its holdings in ImmunityBio by 577.5% in the 2nd quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 97,576 shares of the company's stock valued at $854,000 after purchasing an additional 83,173 shares during the last quarter. 8.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

ImmunityBio Trading Up 0.8%

ImmunityBio stock traded up $0.07 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $8.51. The company's stock had a trading volume of 10,394,602 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,837,396. The stock's fifty day moving average is $7.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $7.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.02 billion, a PE ratio of -8.77 and a beta of 0.04. ImmunityBio has a 1 year low of $1.95 and a 1 year high of $12.43.

ImmunityBio (NASDAQ:IBRX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported ($0.22) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.08) by ($0.14). The business had revenue of $51.24 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $49.70 million. On average, equities analysts expect that ImmunityBio will post -0.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

IBRX has been the subject of several recent research reports. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $15.00 price target on shares of ImmunityBio in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of ImmunityBio in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $14.20.

About ImmunityBio

ImmunityBio, Inc is a biotechnology company focused on developing and commercializing immunotherapies and other treatments designed to activate the immune system against cancer and infectious diseases. The company's platform combines biologics, cell therapies, vaccines and other approaches intended to generate durable immune responses.

Its lead product, ANKTIVA (nogapendekin alfa inbakicept-pmln), is an interleukin-15 receptor agonist designed to stimulate natural killer cells and T cells.

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