ImmunityBio (NASDAQ:IBRX) Trading 6.3% Higher – Still a Buy?

ImmunityBio, Inc. (NASDAQ:IBRX)’s stock price rose 6.3% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $2.51 and last traded at $2.61. Approximately 245,302 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 96% from the average daily volume of 5,573,670 shares. The stock had previously closed at $2.46.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on IBRX. Piper Sandler upgraded ImmunityBio from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $4.25 to $5.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $8.00 price target on shares of ImmunityBio in a report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, D. Boral Capital restated a “buy” rating and issued a $30.00 price objective on shares of ImmunityBio in a research note on Wednesday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $12.25.

ImmunityBio Trading Up 2.7%

The firm has a market capitalization of $2.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.90 and a beta of 0.33. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $2.61 and a 200-day moving average price of $3.11.

ImmunityBio (NASDAQ:IBRX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 12th. The company reported ($0.15) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.12) by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $16.52 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.50 million. On average, equities analysts expect that ImmunityBio, Inc. will post -0.92 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ImmunityBio

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in IBRX. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its holdings in ImmunityBio by 5.6% during the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 219,360 shares of the company’s stock valued at $660,000 after purchasing an additional 11,573 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of ImmunityBio by 193.4% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 44,448 shares of the company’s stock valued at $134,000 after acquiring an additional 29,297 shares during the last quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of ImmunityBio in the first quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Compound Planning Inc. acquired a new position in shares of ImmunityBio in the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Humankind Investments LLC bought a new stake in ImmunityBio during the 1st quarter worth approximately $34,000. Institutional investors own 8.58% of the company’s stock.

ImmunityBio Company Profile

ImmunityBio, Inc, a clinical-stage biotechnology company, engages in developing therapies and vaccines that bolster the natural immune system to defeat cancers and infectious diseases. Its platforms for the development of biologic product candidates include antibody-cytokine fusion proteins; DNA, RNA, and recombinant protein vaccines; and cell therapies.