ImmunityBio (NASDAQ:IBRX) Stock Jumps 6.8% - What's Next?

Key Points

• ImmunityBio shares rose 6.8% to approximately $10.58, although trading volume was 95% below the stock’s average daily volume.
• Analyst sentiment is generally positive: MarketBeat reports a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $14.20, despite one analyst maintaining a sell rating.
• The company reported a quarterly EPS loss of $0.22, missing estimates by $0.14, while revenue of $51.24 million exceeded expectations; two directors also sold shares under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans.

ImmunityBio, Inc. (NASDAQ:IBRX - Get Free Report)'s share price rose 6.8% on Friday. The stock traded as high as $10.18 and last traded at $10.5830. 995,368 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 95% from the average daily volume of 20,570,580 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.91.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on IBRX shares. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded ImmunityBio to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, September 25th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of ImmunityBio in a research note on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $14.20.

ImmunityBio Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $11.07 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.70 and a beta of 0.02. The firm's 50 day moving average is $8.25 and its 200 day moving average is $7.88.

ImmunityBio (NASDAQ:IBRX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported ($0.22) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.08) by ($0.14). The firm had revenue of $51.24 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $49.70 million. As a group, analysts expect that ImmunityBio, Inc. will post -0.44 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other ImmunityBio news, Director Cheryl Cohen sold 81,056 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.50, for a total value of $851,088.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 100,309 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,053,244.50. The trade was a 44.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Barry Simon sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.75, for a total value of $268,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 2,777,788 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,861,221. This represents a 0.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 66.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of IBRX. Sigma Planning Corp boosted its stake in shares of ImmunityBio by 7.3% in the 2nd quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 19,015 shares of the company's stock worth $166,000 after buying an additional 1,300 shares during the last quarter. Archer Investment Corp increased its position in ImmunityBio by 67.1% during the first quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 5,872 shares of the company's stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 2,358 shares during the last quarter. Winning Points Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in ImmunityBio by 0.4% in the second quarter. Winning Points Advisors LLC now owns 726,258 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,287,000 after acquiring an additional 2,685 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in ImmunityBio by 262.2% in the third 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. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of ImmunityBio by 18.3% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 19,710 shares of the company's stock valued at $151,000 after purchasing an additional 3,050 shares during the period. 8.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About ImmunityBio

ImmunityBio, Inc is a biotechnology company focused on developing and commercializing immunotherapies designed to activate and strengthen the body's immune system against cancer and infectious diseases. The company combines cytokine-based therapies, vaccines, cellular therapies and other immune-modulating technologies in an effort to create durable treatment responses.

Its lead product, ANKTIVA (nogapendekin alfa inbakicept-pmln), is an interleukin-15 receptor agonist immune stimulator.

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