Stock Traders Buy Large Volume of Call Options on ImmunityBio (NASDAQ:IBRX)

Key Points

• Traders bought 33,430 ImmunityBio call options on Monday, about 86% above the typical daily volume.
• ANKTIVA plus BCG met the primary endpoint in a randomized bladder-cancer trial, and the company reported expanded approvals alongside Q3 product revenue growth of 53% year over year to $48.7 million.
• Q3 results fell short of expectations: ImmunityBio reported a $0.09-per-share loss versus an expected $0.07 loss, while revenue of $48.84 million missed the $59.23 million consensus. Shares fell to $7.11 during Monday trading.

ImmunityBio, Inc. (NASDAQ:IBRX - Get Free Report) saw some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Stock traders acquired 33,430 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 86% compared to the typical daily volume of 18,006 call options.

Key Headlines Impacting ImmunityBio

Here are the key news stories impacting ImmunityBio this week:

• Positive Sentiment: ANKTIVA plus BCG met the primary endpoint in the randomized QUILT-2.005 trial for BCG-naïve, high-grade non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer, adding supportive clinical evidence for the treatment. Article: ImmunityBio Announces ANKTIVA Plus BCG Meets Primary Endpoint
• Positive Sentiment: The company announced an expanded FDA approval and additional global approval for ANKTIVA. It also reported Q3 net product revenue of $48.7 million, up 53% year over year, and first-nine-month U.S. revenue of $143.6 million, up 92%. Article: ImmunityBio Reports Label Expansion, Approval and Revenue Growth
• Positive Sentiment: ImmunityBio and Rafa said Israel approved ANKTIVA plus BCG for BCG-unresponsive non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer with carcinoma in situ, extending the therapy’s international reach. Article: Israeli Ministry of Health Approval
• Negative Sentiment: Q3 EPS was a loss of $0.09, versus analyst expectations for a loss of about $0.07–$0.08. Revenue of $48.84 million also missed the roughly $59.23 million consensus estimate. The larger-than-expected loss and revenue shortfall are the main near-term negatives for the stock. Article: ImmunityBio Reports Wider Quarterly Loss

Insider Activity

In other ImmunityBio news, Director Cheryl Cohen sold 81,056 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.50, for a total transaction of $851,088.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 100,309 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,053,244.50. This represents a 44.69% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Barry Simon sold 25,000 shares of ImmunityBio stock in a transaction on Monday, October 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.75, for a total transaction of $268,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 2,777,788 shares of the company's stock, valued at $29,861,221. The trade was a 0.89% 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. Company insiders own 66.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ImmunityBio

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Markowski Investments acquired a new position in shares of ImmunityBio during the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in ImmunityBio in the third quarter valued at about $29,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of ImmunityBio by 262.2% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,807 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 2,756 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of ImmunityBio by 579.3% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 5,754 shares of the company's stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 4,907 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Western Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in ImmunityBio in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 8.58% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

IBRX has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $16.00 price objective on shares of ImmunityBio in a research note on Wednesday, October 14th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of ImmunityBio from $12.00 to $14.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 14th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $15.00 price target on shares of ImmunityBio in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of ImmunityBio in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, ImmunityBio presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $16.00.

ImmunityBio Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ IBRX traded down $1.53 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $7.11. The company had a trading volume of 33,352,556 shares, compared to its average volume of 19,958,516. The company has a market capitalization of $7.53 billion, a PE ratio of -7.30 and a beta of 0.17. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $8.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $7.96. ImmunityBio has a 1-year low of $1.95 and a 1-year high of $12.43.

ImmunityBio (NASDAQ:IBRX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 9th. The company reported ($0.09) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.07) by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $48.84 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $59.23 million. On average, analysts expect that ImmunityBio will post -0.30 EPS for the current year.

ImmunityBio Company Profile

ImmunityBio is a biotechnology company that develops immunotherapies for cancer and infectious diseases. Its research combines approaches including immune-modulating biologics, cell therapies and vaccine-based treatments, with a focus on activating the body's natural and adaptive immune responses.

The company's lead product, Anktiva (nogapendekin alfa inbakicept-pmln), received U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval in 2024 for use with Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) in adults with BCG-unresponsive non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer with carcinoma in situ, with or without papillary tumors.

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