ImmunityBio (NASDAQ:IBRX) Shares Up 11% – Still a Buy?

ImmunityBio, Inc. (NASDAQ:IBRX)’s share price rose 11% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $9.54 and last traded at $9.40. Approximately 26,495,297 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 33% from the average daily volume of 39,633,914 shares. The stock had previously closed at $8.47.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

IBRX has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $12.00 price target (up from $7.00) on shares of ImmunityBio in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of ImmunityBio in a research report on Monday, December 29th. HC Wainwright boosted their target price on shares of ImmunityBio from $10.00 to $15.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of ImmunityBio in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, D. Boral Capital restated a “buy” rating and set a $23.00 price target on shares of ImmunityBio in a research note on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $14.40.

ImmunityBio Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $9.64 billion, a PE ratio of -24.68 and a beta of -0.04. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $7.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $4.05.

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

Insider Activity at ImmunityBio

In related news, Director Barry J. Simon sold 165,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.25, for a total value of $1,691,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Christobel Selecky sold 50,000 shares of ImmunityBio stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.00, for a total transaction of $250,000.00. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 501,967 shares of company stock valued at $4,466,412. 69.48% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of ImmunityBio

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in IBRX. Slow Capital Inc. bought a new position in ImmunityBio in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Truist Financial Corp bought a new stake in shares of ImmunityBio during the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of ImmunityBio in the third quarter worth about $27,000. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ImmunityBio in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Diversify Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of ImmunityBio in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. 8.58% of the stock is currently owned by 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.