Lyell Immunopharma (NASDAQ:LYEL) Now Covered by Needham & Company LLC

Analysts at Needham & Company LLC initiated coverage on shares of Lyell Immunopharma (NASDAQ:LYEL) in a research note issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm set a “buy” rating and a $44.00 price target on the stock. Needham & Company LLC’s price objective points to a potential upside of 84.49% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Lyell Immunopharma in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Wall Street Zen lowered Lyell Immunopharma from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 28th. Citizens Jmp initiated coverage on Lyell Immunopharma in a research report on Monday, March 9th. They issued a “market outperform” rating and a $34.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Lyell Immunopharma from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Lyell Immunopharma presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $41.00.

Lyell Immunopharma Stock Performance

LYEL opened at $23.85 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $22.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $22.59. Lyell Immunopharma has a twelve month low of $7.65 and a twelve month high of $45.00. The firm has a market cap of $556.42 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.46 and a beta of -0.06.

Lyell Immunopharma (NASDAQ:LYEL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 12th. The company reported ($7.68) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($2.15) by ($5.53). The firm had revenue of $0.01 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $0.02 million. Lyell Immunopharma had a negative net margin of 762,355.56% and a negative return on equity of 90.52%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Lyell Immunopharma will post -0.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Lyell Immunopharma

In other news, CEO Lynn Seely sold 7,455 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.39, for a total transaction of $174,372.45. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 74,266 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,737,081.74. This represents a 9.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Stephen J. Hill sold 1,236 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.39, for a total transaction of $28,910.04. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 17,795 shares in the company, valued at $416,225.05. This trade represents a 6.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 11,310 shares of company stock worth $264,285. Corporate insiders own 22.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lyell Immunopharma

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. ARCH Venture Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lyell Immunopharma during the second quarter worth $16,113,000. GSK plc bought a new position in Lyell Immunopharma in the fourth quarter valued at about $46,560,000. MWG Caph Ltd acquired a new stake in Lyell Immunopharma in the fourth quarter worth about $31,030,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Lyell Immunopharma by 204.2% during the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 660,899 shares of the company’s stock worth $354,000 after purchasing an additional 443,614 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Lyell Immunopharma by 76.0% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 779,004 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,651,000 after purchasing an additional 336,378 shares during the last quarter. 66.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lyell Immunopharma Company Profile

Lyell Immunopharma is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing next-generation T cell therapies for cancer. Leveraging a proprietary platform that combines cell therapy, gene editing and molecular discovery, Lyell seeks to overcome key barriers in the treatment of solid tumors. The company’s approach centers on engineering T cells to enhance their persistence, functionality and resistance to the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment.

The company’s pipeline includes multiple autologous T cell programs engineered to target tumor-associated antigens in solid malignancies such as melanoma, ovarian and pancreatic cancers.