ImmunityBio (NASDAQ:IBRX) Shares Up 4.3% – Still a Buy?

ImmunityBio, Inc. (NASDAQ:IBRX) shares traded up 4.3% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $8.92 and last traded at $8.56. 22,336,170 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 45% from the average session volume of 40,422,016 shares. The stock had previously closed at $8.21.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on IBRX shares. D. Boral Capital restated a “buy” rating and issued a $23.00 target price on shares of ImmunityBio in a research note on Tuesday. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $12.00 price objective (up from $7.00) on shares of ImmunityBio in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. BTIG Research began coverage on ImmunityBio in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $13.00 price target for the company. HC Wainwright boosted their price target on ImmunityBio from $10.00 to $15.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of ImmunityBio in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. One research 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 target price of $14.40.

ImmunityBio Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $8.81 billion, a PE ratio of -22.55 and a beta of -0.03. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $6.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $3.92.

ImmunityBio (NASDAQ:IBRX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 2nd. The company reported ($0.06) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.08) by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $38.29 million during the quarter. Analysts forecast that ImmunityBio, Inc. will post -0.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at ImmunityBio

In related news, Director Barry J. Simon sold 165,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.25, for a total value of $1,691,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 2,925,821 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,989,665.25. This trade represents a 5.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Christobel Selecky sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.00, for a total value of $250,000.00. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 501,967 shares of company stock worth $4,466,412. Insiders own 69.48% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ImmunityBio

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in ImmunityBio by 18.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 32,777,257 shares of the company’s stock worth $64,899,000 after buying an additional 5,122,052 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its holdings in ImmunityBio by 45.4% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 16,455,703 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,582,000 after purchasing an additional 5,139,890 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of ImmunityBio by 15.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,920,178 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,684,000 after buying an additional 1,030,113 shares during the period. Armistice Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ImmunityBio during the second quarter worth approximately $20,497,000. Finally, Heights Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in ImmunityBio during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $16,152,000. 8.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ImmunityBio Company Profile

ImmunityBio, Inc is a clinical-stage biotechnology company specializing in the development of novel immunotherapies for cancer and infectious diseases. The company’s research platform centers on harnessing the power of the human immune system—through engineered T cells, natural killer (NK) cells, cytokine superagonists and viral-vectored vaccines—to target and eliminate diseased cells across a range of indications.

Among its lead assets is Anktiva (formerly known as N-803), an interleukin-15 superagonist designed to stimulate NK and T cell activity.