ImmunityBio (NASDAQ:IBRX) Trading 9.7% Higher - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• ImmunityBio shares rose 9.7% to about $8.68 in mid-day trading, although volume was 69% below the average session level.
• Analyst sentiment remains largely positive: six analysts rate the stock a Buy and one rates it a Sell, producing a “Moderate Buy” consensus and a $14.20 price target.
• The company reported a quarterly loss of $0.22 per share, missing estimates by $0.14, while revenue of $51.24 million exceeded expectations. Insiders sold 412,410 shares worth approximately $3.75 million over the past 90 days.

ImmunityBio, Inc. (NASDAQ:IBRX - Get Free Report)'s share price shot up 9.7% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $8.74 and last traded at $8.6770. Approximately 6,613,000 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 69% from the average session volume of 21,062,895 shares. The stock had previously closed at $7.91.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on IBRX shares. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and issued a $15.00 target price on shares of ImmunityBio in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of ImmunityBio in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Finally, BTIG Research restated a "buy" rating and set a $12.00 target price on shares of ImmunityBio in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $14.20.

ImmunityBio Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $9.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.82 and a beta of 0.04. The company has a fifty day moving average of $7.75 and a two-hundred day moving average of $7.83.

ImmunityBio (NASDAQ:IBRX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $51.24 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $49.70 million. Equities analysts expect that ImmunityBio, Inc. will post -0.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other ImmunityBio news, Director Barry Simon sold 25,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.88, for a total transaction of $197,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 2,802,788 shares of the company's stock, valued at $22,085,969.44. The trade was a 0.88% decrease in their position. 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 Christobel Selecky sold 159,478 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.02, for a total transaction of $1,438,491.56. Following the sale, the director directly owned 35,064 shares in the company, valued at $316,277.28. The trade was a 81.98% 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. Insiders have sold a total of 412,410 shares of company stock worth $3,753,442 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 66.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of IBRX. Markowski Investments acquired a new stake in shares of ImmunityBio in the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd boosted its holdings in ImmunityBio by 49.8% in the fourth quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 16,416 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 5,459 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in ImmunityBio by 579.3% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 5,754 shares of the company's stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 4,907 shares during the last quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in ImmunityBio during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Finally, Hollencrest Capital Management acquired a new stake in ImmunityBio during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $44,000. 8.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

ImmunityBio Company Profile

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.