Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Call Options on ImmunityBio (NASDAQ:IBRX)

ImmunityBio, Inc. (NASDAQ:IBRX) saw some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Stock traders purchased 33,430 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 86% compared to the typical daily volume of 18,006 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on IBRX shares. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $15.00 target price on shares of ImmunityBio in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $16.00 target price on shares of ImmunityBio in a report on Wednesday, October 14th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of ImmunityBio in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of ImmunityBio from $12.00 to $14.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 14th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $16.00.

Key Stories Impacting ImmunityBio

Here are the key news stories impacting ImmunityBio this week:

• Positive Sentiment: ANKTIVA plus BCG met the primary endpoint in the randomized QUILT-2.005 trial for BCG-naïve, high-grade non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer, adding supportive clinical evidence for the treatment. Article: ImmunityBio Announces ANKTIVA Plus BCG Meets Primary Endpoint
• Positive Sentiment: The company announced an expanded FDA approval and additional global approval for ANKTIVA. It also reported Q3 net product revenue of $48.7 million, up 53% year over year, and first-nine-month U.S. revenue of $143.6 million, up 92%. Article: ImmunityBio Reports Label Expansion, Approval and Revenue Growth
• Positive Sentiment: ImmunityBio and Rafa said Israel approved ANKTIVA plus BCG for BCG-unresponsive non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer with carcinoma in situ, extending the therapy’s international reach. Article: Israeli Ministry of Health Approval
• Negative Sentiment: Q3 EPS was a loss of $0.09, versus analyst expectations for a loss of about $0.07–$0.08. Revenue of $48.84 million also missed the roughly $59.23 million consensus estimate. The larger-than-expected loss and revenue shortfall are the main near-term negatives for the stock. Article: ImmunityBio Reports Wider Quarterly Loss

ImmunityBio Price Performance

IBRX traded down $1.53 on Monday, reaching $7.11. 33,352,556 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 19,958,516. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $8.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $7.96. ImmunityBio has a 52-week low of $1.95 and a 52-week high of $12.43. The company has a market cap of $7.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.30 and a beta of 0.17.

ImmunityBio (NASDAQ:IBRX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 9th. The company reported ($0.09) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.07) by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $48.84 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $59.23 million. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that ImmunityBio will post -0.30 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at ImmunityBio

In other ImmunityBio news, Director Barry Simon sold 25,000 shares of ImmunityBio stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.75, for a total value of $268,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 2,777,788 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,861,221. The trade was a 0.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Cheryl Cohen sold 81,056 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.50, for a total transaction of $851,088.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 100,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,053,244.50. This trade represents a 44.69% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 66.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ImmunityBio

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in shares of ImmunityBio by 65.5% during the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 191,298 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,806,000 after purchasing an additional 75,731 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its stake in ImmunityBio by 277.0% during the third quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 28,277 shares of the company’s stock worth $267,000 after buying an additional 20,777 shares during the last quarter. Torrey Growth & Income Advisors increased its holdings in shares of ImmunityBio by 11.7% during the third quarter. Torrey Growth & Income Advisors now owns 132,775 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,245,000 after buying an additional 13,915 shares in the last quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of ImmunityBio during the third quarter worth approximately $193,000. Finally, Calamos Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of ImmunityBio during the third quarter worth approximately $937,000. 8.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

ImmunityBio Company Profile

ImmunityBio is a biotechnology company that develops immunotherapies for cancer and infectious diseases. Its research combines approaches including immune-modulating biologics, cell therapies and vaccine-based treatments, with a focus on activating the body’s natural and adaptive immune responses.

The company’s lead product, Anktiva (nogapendekin alfa inbakicept-pmln), received U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval in 2024 for use with Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) in adults with BCG-unresponsive non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer with carcinoma in situ, with or without papillary tumors.